It was a difficult day three in this trial. Dozens of graphic autopsy images of the five-month-old girl show a number bruises and internal bleeding.
Iniubong Ebong spent most of the day with his hands to his face, blocking out images of his lifeless daughter. Indiya Ebong was seen on the medical examiner's table, battered and bruised.
"No one wants to see their child in that condition," said defense attorney Emily Detoto. "He understandably was upset and chose not to look."
Prosecutors showed the pictures to the jury as a medical examiner testified the little girl suffered internal bleeding, with her liver lacerated and 24 broken bones. The medical examiner said the infant's injuries happened while she was alive. Prosecutors are hoping to disprove the defense's theory that the infant died as a result of a failed CPR attempt.
"He had nothing to do with the death of his daughter," Detoto said.
On Thursday, jurors saw video of Iniubong confessing to police what happened.
"It was more or less Indi agreeing with what law enforcement told him what happened," Detoto explained.
A transcript states Iniubong said, "She slipped out of my hands ... I had accidentally dropped her. ... on the floor."
After the fall Indiya cried and wouldn't stop, Inuibong told police.
"I ended up spanking her accidentally, on the abdomen, accidentally, just that one time," Inuibong said.
Detoto said, "What I'm going to encourage the jury not to do is to fill in the lack of an answer with a guilty verdict."
Ebong faces up to life in prison if he is found guilty.
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