A Father Raped And Murdered His Infant Daughter Then Googled 'How Do You Know If A Baby Is Dead'

In a sickening crime, a father has been arrested and charged with the rape and murder of his 10-month old daughter, Zara Scruggs. Austin Stevens, 29, is accused of violently raping the infant and beating her over the head. She was still alive when taken to the hospital but died later of her injuries.

Chillingly the father had known that his daughter was in danger of death and was found to have made Google searches, including 'How do you know if a baby is dead', 'What if you don't hear baby heart or beat' and 'If baby stops breathing'.

1 hour after making the Google searches, he phoned an ambulance to report that his child was unwell. Paramedics soon responded and, after the child was taken to hospital, it was clear form her injuries that she had been both raped and beaten.

Montgomery County District Attorney, Kevin Steele, stated:

"This case is deeply disturbing. It is hard to imagine this child's death being any more traumatic: sexual assault on an infant, followed by inaction by the father to save her life, led to her death."

It is believed that the father, the owner of a local construction company, had a joint custody agreement with her mother. Stevens himself was a coach with a local youth football team.

@MontcopaDA says 29 year old Austin Stevens raped and assaulted his 10 month old daughter over the weekend. Court records reveal when she stopped breathing, he googled “how do you know if a baby is dead” before calling 911 an hour later @6abc pic.twitter.com/7QhACAFKLU

— Christie Ileto (@Christie_Ileto) October 6, 2020

Zara's mother, Erica, made a social media post not long after learning of her daughter's death, saying:

"I'm not okay. I really have no words … He will pay."

A GoFundMe page has also been set up to assist the family and has so far raised $35,000. It reads:

"On October 4th, 2020, our beautiful Zara Lynn Scruggs was taken from us by a monster. She deserved to grow up. She deserved to be with her family. She deserved all the amazing things in this world.

…

As you can imagine, her mother is grieving. We want to ensure that she is comfortable during this time and does not have to worry about any financial burdens associated with losing her child."

Stevens is being held on a $1 million bail bond and is expected to appear before a judge in the near future.