A Toano man charged with felony child abuse in May has been indicted for murder in the aftermath of the death of his 3-month-old daughter.
Bryan Timothy Arruda, 28, was indicted by a grand jury last week on two felony charges: Murder and child abuse resulting in serious injury, according to online court records.
He is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Oct. 6 in the Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court.
“Based on a report by the medical examiner’s office, the commonwealth’s attorney determined they should indict him on that [murder] charge,” according to James City County Police spokeswoman Stephanie Williams said.
Arruda was first charged with felony child abuse May 1, two days after his 3-month-old daughter, Emery Alaine Arruda, died from injuries at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond.
Police said Arruda was home alone with the child April 28 when she was injured.
James City County Police and emergency medical technicians responded to the home, located in the 7600 block of Crestview Drive, around 3:21 p.m., police said in a news release.
Crews arrived to find the child “suffering from life-threatening injuries,” the release said.
The following day, the 3-month-old succumbed to her injuries at VCU Medical Center.
Williams said Arruda was arrested Monday on the murder charge.
A Jail official confirmed Arruda has been in custody since May 1.
