Cumberland, who was the boyfriend of the baby's mother and was watching her two children at the time of the baby's death, initially told police he found the baby not breathing in its upstairs bedroom, according to the report.
Cumberland also told police he found a copper penny in the back of the baby's throat, which he removed. Ni'zayah's lips were blue, he said, and he called 9-1-1 and tried to perform CPR before medics arrived, the report states. Officers said they could not determine where the baby originally was found not breathing, because the body had been moved multiple times before they arrived, the report said.
Over the course of the investigation by police and detectives, Cumberland's story continually changed in interviews, said Sgt. Jeff Flores, head of the division's crimes against persons unit.
Further evidence was collected by police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The autopsy results from the Montgomery County Coroner's Office determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma, Flores said.
Monday, a Clark County grand jury secretly indicted Cumberland on charges of murder and involuntary manslaughter. He was arrested by the task force in the Columbus area, Flores said, then returned to Clark County and booked into the jail.
"This investigation took time," Flores said. He credited the work of the BCI and Springfield Detective James Byron for helping to bring enough evidence to the grand jury. Clark County Children Services and the Child Advocacy Center were involved in the investigation as well, police said.
Cumberland is to be arraigned in Clark County Common Pleas Court next week.
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