SHARONVILLE, Ohio — An Ohio man is accused of keeping his 7-month-old daughter in the same hotel room with her mother’s dead body and drugs, authorities said.
Troy Mahaffey, 32, of Cincinnati, was arrested on Monday and charged with child endangerment and failure to report a death, according to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.
According to a report from the Sharonville Police Department, officers found Geri Mays, 31, unresponsive on a bed when they conducted a wellness check on her on Aug. 2 at the Days Inn by Wyndham in Sharonville, WXIX-TV reported.
Officers found Mays unresponsive on a bed, but Mahaffey allegedly told police that “she was passed out and then audibly laughed while saying it,” according to the report.
Court records state that Mays died from a drug overdose, according to the television station.
Police said the child was found wearing a soiled onesie that was for a 3-month-old child, WXIX reported.
“The formula inside her bottle was curdled and she had an untreated diaper rash. (The baby’s) hair was matted and unkept as if she had not been bathed in quite some time,” police wrote in the incident report, according to the television station. “She was reluctant to straighten her legs as if she had been kept in a car seat for exorbitant periods of time. (The baby) never attempted to crawl or roll over when on the floor, which is inconsistent with age.”
The infant was shared by Mahaffey and Mays, according to police.
Mays was dead with “full rigor mortis with lividity present” officers wrote, and the child “smelled of cigarette and marijuana smoke,” WXIX reported.
The baby was examined by paramedics, taken to the police department and eventually released into the custody of child caseworkers at the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services, according to the television station.
White powder suspected to be heroin was found in the bathroom of the hotel room. Additional narcotics and drug paraphernalia was found including a white plastic baggie of white powder and Xanax pills, WXIX reported.
Mahaffey remains in jail, with bail set at $26,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 14, online records show.