Newark man charged in sex assault, slaying of 9-month-old girl

Posted by cjrothma October 20, 2008 17:39PM

Essex County authorities today charged a Newark man in the killing of his girlfriend's infant daughter.

Everette Sheppard, 22, was arrested late Friday night for an alleged sex assault on the 9-month-old girl. After reviewing the case over the weekend, prosecutors this afternoon upgraded those charges to murder, spokesman Paul Loriquet said.

The girl, Victoria Madison, died Friday after she was rushed from her family's North Ward apartment to University Hospital in cardiac arrest, police said.

Investigators interviewed Sheppard, the girl's mother, Sheila Troutman, 19, and others who were inside the Kemsco Village townhouse when she fell ill.

On Saturday, an autopsy determined her death to be a homicide and concluded that Victoria had died from blunt force trauma to her body, law enforcement officials said. But authorities have not said if the alleged sex assault contributed to her death.

Troutman has not been charged. A second child, a 2-year-old brother of the victim, was taken from the home on Friday by state officials and placed in a temporary foster home, state Division f Youth and Family Services spokeswoman Kate Bernyk said. She declined to say whether the child remains in the foster home.

Sheppard was held at Essex County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail and is expected to be arraigned Wednesday.