Monrovia man ordered to serve 8 years of home detention for death of infant daughter
Aug. 5—A Monrovia man was ordered on Thursday to serve eight years on home detention for the death of his 6-month-old daughter, authorities say.
Jason Michael Colley, 42, entered an Alford plea on two counts of first-degree assault, according to a news release from the Frederick County State's Attorney's Office.
An Alford plea is a type of guilty plea in which the defendant maintains their innocence, but admits that the prosecution's evidence will likely result in a guilty verdict.
The plea came after almost a week of attorneys trying to pick a jury for a three-week trial.
In September 2017, Maryland State Police troopers responded to the 12000 block of Fingerboard Road in Monrovia for a report of a sick or injured person.
According to the release, Colley called 911 reporting that his infant daughter was having seizures and not breathing.
The girl was taken to Shady Grove Hospital in Montgomery County, then the Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she died.
The girl was injured on Sept. 19, 2017, and died six weeks later, on Oct. 31, according to authorities.
Police determined that the infant's traumatic brain injury could not have been from an accident or illness, but rather an intentional act, according to the state's attorney's office.
The girl sustained blunt force trauma, State's Attorney Charlie Smith said in 2018, when Colley was indicted on charges of first-degree child abuse resulting in death, first-degree child abuse causing severe physical injury and first-degree assault.
Colley was a 10-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department, but was stripped of his law enforcement duties after he became a suspect in his daughter's death.
Frederick County Circuit Court Judge Julia A. Martz-Fisher sentenced Colley to 50 years in prison, suspending 42 years, leaving eight years for him to serve on home detention.
The prosecution sought a sentence of eight to 18 years in prison, according to the state's attorney's office. The defense argued for a sentence of home detention.
Colley also will be on supervised probation for five years, with additional terms that he doesn't engage in physical punishment of children.
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