A Washington Boro man has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder for the death of his infant daughter in July 2007.

Joey Douglas, 33, of 447 Shultz Road, will be sentenced by Lancaster County Court Judge Howard F. Knisely in June after a background investigation has been prepared.

Douglas was charged by Manor Township Police with shaking his 5-month-old daughter, Kayla, until she lost consciousness.

The child was taken to Hershey Medical Center after the July 28, 2007 incident. She died there on July 31, 2007. Douglas was arrested the following day.

Represented by defense attorney Merrill Spahn, Douglas pleaded guilty on March 26 without an agreement as to the sentence. Assistant District Attorney Todd Kriner is prosecuting the case.

Third-degree murder, a murder committed without premeditation, carries a maximum penalty of 20 to 40 years in prison.

At an earlier court hearing, county Detective Jan Walters testified that he spoke with Douglas after the baby's death.

"He was trying to feed Kayla. She was fussing and hollering, and he shook her one time," Walters said Douglas told him.

"It was an accident," Walters quoted Douglas as saying. "(I) didn't want to do it."

Walters demonstrated the shake, as it was described to him by Douglas. The defendant held Kayla upright, under her arms, and shook her once, Walters gestured.

"Her head went back," Walters said, showing the snapping motion with his finger.

Douglas then wrapped the girl in a blanket and lay down with her on his chest, Walters testified.

About an hour later, Kayla's "left arm went limp and her eyes rolled up in her head," Douglas told the detective.

The father called for an ambulance but the child remained unresponsive, an emergency medical technician testified.

The baby's mother, Correnia Wiker, 29, was not home at the time of the alleged shaking, investigators said.


Staff writer Janet Kelley can be reached at jkelley@LNPnews.com or 481-6026.