Canyon Country resident Marcel Taylor returns for a pretrial conference on April 19 as he faces charges of killing his child, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office officials.
Taylor, 26, was charged in 2021 with one count each of murder and assault of a child causing death.
On Sept. 26, 2021, Jelani, his daughter, was found unresponsive by paramedics at a home on the 18000 block of Grace Lane in Canyon Country.
Two-month-old Jelani was transported to the hospital, but ultimately died at the L.A. Children’s Hospital a few days later. Investigators listed the cause of death as “blunt force trauma” at the L.A. County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office.
Taylor’s defense attorney filed a request for reduced bail in November. The defense attorney stated that Taylor had no previous criminal record and had been considered a proud father.
The defense motion was denied.
Prosecutors allege that the baby had died from blunt force trauma to the back of her head.
Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami stated in his written response to defense legal counsel that Taylor had told deputies he had been alone when watching the child, that he had shaken her and he had killed her.
He was held to answer in September 2021 by Judge Andrew Cooper in a San Fernando courtroom.
Taylor pleaded not guilty on Oct. 19, 2022, to both counts levied against him, according to L.A. County Superior Court officials.
Taylor is set to return April 19 for a pretrial conference, according to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office. During a pretrial conference, the involved parties establish timelines for concluding all pretrial activities, such as setting a tentative trial date, encouraging the settlement of cases, counsel trying to agree on undisputed facts or points of law, and more.
