A St. Landry Parish grand jury indicted an Opelousas man in connection with the November death of his four-year-old daughter.
Raina Richard died on November 21; an ambulance was called to her home and her mother reported she wasn't breathing. After an autopsy, her father, Joseph Mayon, 36, was arrested and booked with first-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to a juvenile.
According to St. Landry Parish District Attorney Chad Pitre, the autopsy determined Raina died of blunt force trauma.
The grand jury indicted him on charges of second degree murder and second degree cruelty to a juvenile.
"The child not only received several strikes to the top of her head, but also suffered a dislocated shoulder and deep cuts over her eye," Pitre said.
A second degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence with no option for parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
Mayon's arraignment is set for February 17.
