He will be sentenced Aug. 5 by Judge Jeannine Pratt and continues to be held in the county jail. The sentence for the murder charge is life with the possibility of parole after 15 years.
A jury trial had been scheduled for Mayor starting July 22.
Vivian Jaymes Gardner died on Dec. 19 at Dayton Children’s Hospital, according to Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger. Miami County Municipal Court records said she suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed. She died two weeks after suffering the injuries.
On Dec. 5, Piqua police responded to a call around 3:12 p.m. about an unresponsive toddler. A babysitter told police the girl was pale and had bruises on her head, according to a police report. Gardner was transported to Upper Valley Medical Center before being taken by a medical helicopter to Dayton Children’s Hospital.
The police report said Gardner was dropped off at the babysitter’s around 5:30 a.m. She was reportedly alert and playing in the living room when the babysitter left to take other children to school.
Mayor was with Gardner and three other children.
Footage from a camera in the living room showed Mayor pick up Gardner and bring her to the bedroom around 10:30 a.m., according to police records. Gardner was reportedly crying in the video. There was no footage of the bedroom.
When the babysitter returned, Gardner was on the bedroom floor and appeared to be asleep, according to police records. The babysitter checked on her throughout the day and around 3 p.m. went to wake her after she was concerned the girl hadn’t gotten up. “(The babysitter) stated it was at that time she found her breathing was shallow and she was unresponsive,” the incident report read.
During an interview with police, Mayor said Gardner wouldn’t stop crying when he took her to the bedroom for a nap.
“He stated he ‘shook’ her and when she cried louder, he began to ‘slam’ her on the floor of the bedroom,” the report read. When she stopped crying, he reportedly thought she had fallen asleep.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com.
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