A Canyon Country father accused of killing his 2-month-old daughter returned to court on Monday, once again being ordered to appear before a judge at a future date.
Marcel Taylor, 26, was charged last fall 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 is next scheduled to appear on Feb. 28 for a preliminary setting. During a prelim setting, the judge and opposing counsels agree on a date for a preliminary hearing — when the bench decides if there’s enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
Taylor is being held in lieu of $2 million bail, and his legal counsel had previously attempted 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.
