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Prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old Minneapolis man with second-degree murder in the death of his 4-month-old daughter.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said he's having a hard time understanding what led Cory Clifford Morris of Minneapolis to allegedly beat his infant daughter to death last weekend. 

Emergency responders were called to a residence on Franklin Avenue in southeast Minneapolis and found the injured infant.  She was pronounced dead later at Hennepin County Medical Center. 

The 4-month-old died from blunt force trauma, the Medical Examiner reported.

Morris punched the baby after she started making "baby noises" while he was trying to watch TV, the charges said. 

He later called 911 and admitted he'd killed his child, Freeman said, but only after he'd called the girl's mother to tell her he was going to jail because he did something to their baby.

Freeman said Morris will likely be evaluated to determine if he's mentally competent to stand trial.

"There's all sorts of differing stories from him and members of the family about potential mental health issues," said Freeman. "That's not an unusual defense in this kind of case."

The girl's mother told police that Morris had been watching the baby three to four times a week while she worked, according to the criminal complaint. The woman, identified as JA in the complaint, told police Morris "can go from happy to mad easily." 

Freeman said the case is particularly heartbreaking and baffling.

"These kid cases are probably the hardest," he said. "I love my kids and grandkids so much and I think kids are extraordinary. Yeah, they can get in the way and they can cause problems and I'm sure I did when I was a kid. But that's God's gift to us."

If Morris is convicted of the murder, he could be sentenced to as much as 40 years in prison, Freeman said. Morris is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday.

Crime, Law and Justice

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Brandt Williams

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Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said he's having a hard time understanding what led Cory Clifford Morris of Minneapolis to allegedly beat his 4-month-old daughter to death last weekend.

Minneapolis man charged with killing his baby girl

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