Tavarreon Mingo Dickerson, 22, told police that he had dozed off on the couch with his infant daughter, Raylie Dickerson, when he awoke to find her pale and limp around 5 a.m. Jan. 10, according to testimony.
After hearing testimony from the child’s mother, the pediatrician and a Tulsa police officer at the preliminary hearing, Tulsa County Special Judge James Keeley ruled that there is enough evidence for Dickerson to be held for trial on a child-abuse murder charge.
Dickerson is set to be arraigned Aug. 18 by District Judge Doug Drummond.
The baby was pronounced dead in the hospital three days after she was taken there. Dickerson was charged in connection with her death on May 2.
In court Tuesday, Dickerson kept his head down as the child’s mother described the events preceding Raylie’s death. Jenna Dickerson testified that she and the defendant had been fighting and that she had just returned to their home with their three children that evening after staying with a friend for a few nights.