Willis Joey Lambert, 37, was booked into the Oklahoma County jail on a murder complaint, and authorities took two other children into protective custody, Master Sgt. Gary Knight said.
Police received a 911 call from Lambert at 4:34 a.m., after he said he noticed his daughter, Rachael Michelle Lambert, was not breathing.
According to a police report, the father said he put the baby in her bassinet about 9:30 p.m. Monday but when he woke to use the restroom, he noticed she was very still so he placed his hand on her chest.
Rachael was taken to a local emergency room on Tuesday and was pronounced dead a short time later.
Lambert’s mother told police the home actually belonged to Lambert’s girlfriend of 12 years who is the baby’s mother. Police also learned that Lambert had spent the night and did not live at the house, but he was supposed to marry his longtime girlfriend next week.
Officers with the Crimes Against Children unit went to the hospital Tuesday and met with family members. When detectives learned Lambert’s girlfriend had two other children at her home, both children were taken into custody by the state, Knight said. After interviewing Lambert this morning at police headquarters, he was arrested on a complaint of first-degree murder.
Court records show Lambert pleaded guilty to felony child abuse in 1998, and he pleaded guilty to felony possession of cocaine in 1994.
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