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Waterbury man pleads guilty to stabbing, killing child while under influence of drugs

NEW BRITAIN — A Connecticut man charged with fatally stabbing a family friend’s 1-year-old daughter while under the influence of drugs has pleaded guilty....
Arthur Hapgood

NEW BRITAIN — A Connecticut man charged with fatally stabbing a family friend’s 1-year-old daughter while under the influence of drugs has pleaded guilty.

The Hartford Courant reports that 36-year-old Arthur Hapgood Sr., of Waterbury, was originally charged with murder, risk of injury to a minor and first-degree reckless endangerment in connection with the death of 14-month-old Zaniyah Calloway on August 18, 2014.

But under terms of a plea deal, he pleaded guilty Tuesday to the murder charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Prosecutors say Hapgood was at the Bristol home of his mother, who was taking care of Zaniyah, when he became violent and stabbed the baby in the abdomen. He told police he had taken illegal drugs, which police said was marijuana that may have been laced with PCP.

The Office of the Child Advocate and the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence released a fatality report Wednesday regarding the circumstances surrounding Zaniyah’s death. OCA and CCADV’s investigation focused extensively on Hapgood’s behavior during the period of his probation, as well as the law enforcement response to the domestic violence incident on August 17, 2014.

You can read the OCA & CCADV’s full report here:

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