What did Joseph Napier do? Florida dad arrested in 2021 choking death of 2-month-old daughter

Joseph Napier, a 30-year-old resident of Vero Beach, Florida, has been recently arrested and charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of his 2-month-old daughter, Iris Noelle.

Iris lost her life on May 28, 2021, after emergency services were contacted regarding an unresponsive child. Joseph Napier was the one who contacted the authorities, who in turn began giving him instructions regarding how to administer emergency CPR.

By the time authorities reached the location in the 1500 block of Sixth Avenue, Iris was unresponsive and turning blue. Napier claimed that he had left the victim unattended with his elder daughter, who was 18 months old at the time, for about 10 minutes and returned to find her choking.

However, through further investigation, authorities concluded that Napier’s story was false and that he was the only one who could’ve caused the victim’s death. Based on these grounds, Napier was taken into custody.

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Authorities believe that Joseph Napier placed a wipe in his daughter’s throat

Joseph Napier told the authorities that he had left his late daughter unattended on the counter for approximately ten minutes and returned to see that she was choking. He claims to have waited for five minutes before contacting emergency services.

However, the Indian River County Sheriff’s office claims that they have found evidence that suggests that Napier was on his phone for half an hour, which contradicts his version of the story. As per the Sheriff’s office:

"Based on all of the evidence gathered, and in consultation with medical physicians, it was determined that the only person present at the time of the incident that could have placed the wipe that deep in the child’s throat was Joseph Napier."

Upon further investigation through forensic evidence, the Sheriff’s office has determined that Napier’s elder daughter could not have placed the wipe that the victim choked on down the latter’s throat. As per Sheriff Eric Flowers:

"Our forensic team has determined that his claims that the 18-month-old child placed a wipe down the throat of this 2-month-old infant, we've proven that that's not possible… He put that wipe in that child's mouth. He pushed it down far enough that this child choked. It took doctors going deep into this child's throat with forceps [to get it out]."

Joseph Napier, and Joe Miller, who were present at the press conference where the arrest was announced, agree with the conclusions of the Sheriff’s Department.

Miller, who had left the victim with Napier only moments before she died, recounted that the last thing he heard before he left on the day of the incident was Napier angrily asking the victim to shut up.

Joseph Napier is currently in custody at the Indian River County jail. His bond has been set at $750,000.