A Canyon Country father accused of killing his 2-month-old daughter remained under COVID-19 quarantine this week, resulting in another postponement of his bail review hearing.
Marcel Taylor, 26, was charged last month with one count each of murder and assault of a child causing death after his daughter, Jelani, was found unresponsive by paramedics at a home on the 18000 block of Grace Lane in Canyon Country on Sept. 26.
The baby was transported to the hospital, but ultimately died a few days later at L.A. Children’s Hospital. The cause of death was listed by investigators at the L.A. County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office as “blunt force trauma.”
Taylor was scheduled to appear on Wednesday for a bail review hearing, but could not appear due to a COVID-19 outbreak in his pre-trial detention facility, and the hearing was postponed to Dec. 29.
During a bail review hearing, a defendant requests that a judge reduce their bail amount. Taylor is currently being held in lieu of $2 million bail, but his legal counsel plans to argue that amount should be lowered to $30,000 due to the 26-year-old having no prior criminal history or reports of abuse/neglect, according to court documents.
In his filing responding to the defense’s bail request, Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami, the prosecutor for the case, argued that the bail amount should remain fixed due to the clear danger Taylor poses to the public.
