Clermont County Man Indicted for Murder of Four Month Old
Clermont County Prosecutor
| For Release: April 21, 2026 Batavia, Clermont County, Ohio INDICTMENT FOR ONE COUNT OF FELONY MURDER, ONE COUNT OF INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER, ONE COUNT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND SEVEN COUNTS OF ENDANGERING CHILDREN Clermont County Prosecutor Mark J. Tekulve announces that on April 21, 2026, a Clermont County Grand Jury indicted Marcellaus Malone on one count of felony murder, one count of involuntary manslaughter, one count of domestic violence, and seven counts of endangering children, all relating to the abuse and death of his own infant daughter. On December 11, 2025, the Milford Police Department was called out to the apartment occupied by Malone for an unresponsive four-month-old. First responders rushed the infant to the hospital, but the child could not be revived. An investigation into Malone revealed a pattern of abuse going back at least two months. Investigators discovered a video of Malone making threats to the baby, telling her that she was “going to be a dead baby,” and that he was going to toss her on the bed if she “pissed [him] off.” It was further revealed that as a punishment for crying, Malone would tightly swaddle the infant, including her head, to the point she could not breathe and would pass out. He told her that if she wanted to stop getting swaddled like that, she would have to stop crying. Not only would Malone cut off the baby’s breathing as a result of her fussing, but on at least one occasion, he punched the infant in the face for crying, causing a significant bruise. The night of the child’s death, she was particularly fussy. While the child’s mother had swaddled her appropriately, Malone placed the child in the adjacent room in her bassinet and was the last person to see the baby alive. The infant’s autopsy revealed no other reason for her death, but documented as a contributory cause of death, a “[r]reported history of occlusion of the nose and mouth by swaddling of the body and head.” If convicted on all counts, Malone faces life in prison. “Children are our most precious gifts. It is unthinkable that this innocent child could have been treated in such a callous and evil manner. This Office is dedicated to holding accountable those who would do such unspeakable violence to our county’s most vulnerable” – Mark J. Tekulve, Clermont County Prosecuting Attorney |
Marcellaus Malone
DOB 03/28/1996
*Mugshot courtesy of Clermont County Sheriff’s Office*