Prosecutors say the 4-month-old died after her father forced a pacifier over her airway.

UTICA, Ohio — An Ohio father accused of suffocating his 4-month-old daughter with a pacifier after she cried is being held on a $200,000 bond while awaiting a July jury trial on aggravated murder and related charges.

Chance Terrence Topp, 29, has pleaded not guilty to charges tied to the October 2023 death of his daughter, identified in court records by the initials R.T. The case moved from an initial involuntary manslaughter arrest to a 13-count indictment after a 20-month investigation by the Licking County Sheriff’s Office, Utica police and prosecutors. The immediate stakes are now in court, where prosecutors must prove that the child’s death was not an accident but a criminal act.

The case began around 7:32 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2023, when deputies and Utica police officers were called to a home on Crestview Drive for a report of an unresponsive infant. Emergency crews took the baby to Licking Memorial Hospital, where staff saw injuries they considered suspicious before she was pronounced dead. Authorities said Topp had been caring for the baby while her mother was at work. Topp first told detectives he had fallen asleep after putting the infant in her crib, then woke when he heard her gasping for air. He said he tried CPR but did not call 911 himself.

Investigators later said the scene inside the home did not fit that first account. Family members told detectives they heard the baby screaming before emergency crews were called. They said they confronted Topp and yelled, “What did you do?” after seeing what was happening in the home. Relatives also told investigators that Topp refused help and blocked them from seeing the baby. The grandmother said she heard the infant crying in a way she had not heard before and said the sound was “the most awful cry she ever heard.” Prosecutors say those details became part of the larger record that led them to seek more serious charges.

Medical findings became a key part of the investigation. Hospital workers and emergency personnel noted bruising on the baby’s jawline and a mark across her neck. One paramedic told investigators the mark looked like injuries he had seen only during strangulation training. An autopsy found that the baby died from asphyxia. Prosecutors said she had severe cerebral edema and petechiae, signs they described as consistent with suffocation or strangulation. The Licking County Coroner’s Office later ruled the manner of death a homicide. Toxicology results also showed the infant tested positive for 11-carboxy-delta-8 THC, a substance tied to delta-8 THC exposure.

Authorities said Topp’s account changed during later interviews. In a 2025 interview, investigators said, he admitted smoking delta-8 THC in the room with the baby to calm himself. He also said he may have held the infant too tightly. When detectives questioned him about bruises on the child’s jawline, prosecutors said Topp admitted holding a pacifier over the baby’s mouth and nose while trying to get her to stop crying and go back to sleep. Court filings said he later acknowledged holding the pacifier “too hard and too long.” Prosecutors allege the pressure was strong enough to block the baby’s airway.

Assistant Prosecutor Tyler McCoy said the investigation took months because detectives had to test evidence, conduct interviews and review what Topp said at different points. “This has been a long investigation by the Licking County Sheriff’s Office,” McCoy said, adding that Topp made deceptive statements before admitting he put too much force on the baby’s mouth with the pacifier. Prosecutors also cited a recorded Christmas Day jail call in which they said Topp admitted that what he told investigators in 2025 was true and that he had lied earlier in the case.

The indictment lists 13 counts, including aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of endangering children, felonious assault, strangulation, reckless homicide, two counts of domestic violence and falsification. Topp pleaded not guilty to the new charges at a May 19 hearing. His bond, once reported at $2 million, was later reduced to $200,000. The charges cover several possible legal theories, from intentional killing to reckless conduct, and allow jurors to consider different levels of criminal responsibility if the case reaches verdict.

Relatives described the child as a happy baby whose death left a lasting wound in the family. The baby’s grandmother, Amy Richter, said the family called her “Our Smiley Riley” and wanted people to remember that part of her. Richter said the world “lost so many smiles” when the baby died. Her statement put a name and family memory beside the court language of asphyxia, homicide and indictment. For prosecutors, the next step is turning the medical findings, witness accounts and alleged admissions into evidence that can be tested in court.

Topp remains in the Licking County Jail as the case moves toward trial. His jury trial is scheduled to begin July 27, when prosecutors are expected to present the 20-month investigation to a Licking County jury.

Author note: Last updated June 18, 2026.