Matthew Warner, 30, faces the following charges: murder, assault on a child causing death, torture, ‘oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child 10 years or younger’ and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Prosecutors say they believe the assault and death happened on Friday, before Warner and his wife walked into a police station at 9.30PM to report their baby daughter as missing.
Ellorah Rose Warner was just three weeks old when she died.
The couple were held for questioning on Friday evening, before the police launched an all-night search for the baby.
In the following hours, Warner led police to a truck where Ellorah’s body was discovered.
The baby’s grandmother has since told the Los Angeles Times that her daughter went to work on Friday and had left her baby in the couple’s bedroom.
Nan Allison, who was in the house, then recalled hearing unusual noises coming from the room. When Ellorah stopped crying, Allison thought she’d fallen to sleep.
‘I can’t believe I considered you a homie. Im sure there is gonna be many people in jail that are gonna wanna see you.’
According to the grandmother, Warner emerged hours later and appeared hyper. When she tried to use the phone to express her concerns to her daughter, she found the phone had been disconnected.
She left the house to call police using a neighbour’s line, which Warner used as an excuse to flee.
Warner faces life in prison if he is convicted of all charges.
His Facebook friends have reacted with disgust and outrage at his actions, with one pal, Britni, writing:
‘Matt, I am so sad about what you did. I hoped and prayed it was accidental and not intentional. Your poor wife and especially your poor daughter! May she rest in peace! And I’m hope that you are prosecuted to the full extent (sic)’
Another wrote: ‘I can’t believe I considered you a homie. Im sure there is gonna be many people in jail that are gonna wanna see you.’