Bond set for infant death case

Charles Hopf, accused in the death of an infant, appeared in Dubois County Circuit Court Wednesday.

Circuit Court Judge Nathan Verkamp established a $200,000 cash bond for Hopf who is charged with Level 1 felony aggravated battery causing the death of a child less than 14 years of age.

According to the investigative affidavit, Hopf was arrested December 20, 2014 after police were called to Memorial Hospital where an infant, Xavier Miller, was being treated for extensive injuries.

Police were told that Xavier had been brought into the hospital by his aunt Asia Clay and Charles Hopf at about 12:30 a.m.

Hopf and Xavier’s mother, India Clay, were in relationship and Xavier had been in Hopf’s care since about 6:20 p.m. that night when India went to work.

Asia told police that she had been shopping in Evansville and returned to the residence on Dewey Street she shared with Hopf and her sister India at about midnight. At home she found Xavier laying on his stomach on a couch and Hopf told her that Xavier had fallen from a recliner earlier in the evening and had busted his lip on a table.

Asia attempted to wake Xavier but found him unresponsive and when she rolled him over she saw that the skin on his face was peeling.

The doctor informed police that when Xavier was brought into the emergency room, they determined he had a life-threatening injury to the upper right side of his brain. Medical personnel also observed a fresh bite mark on Xavier’s upper right arm, bruising on his upper right thigh and a burn on his face.

When the Jasper detective spoke with Hopf, he admitted he was the only one Xavier had been with that evening. He told the detective that Xavier’s face had been burned in the shower when Hopf had the water on too hot.

Hopf admitted to biting Xavier but stated he did so after Xavier bit him and he did it to teach the child not to bite.

Hopf told the detective that Xavier injured his lip when he fell from a chair and hit a table. When questioned about the injury to Xavier’s head, Hopf admitted he pushed Xavier down earlier in the evening when he became frustrated with the toddler. He said that the injury may have occurred then.

Hopf was initially charged with Level 3 felony aggravated battery and booked into the security center.

Xavier was transferred from Memorial Hospital to Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville where he was pronounced dead at 7:09 a.m. The Jefferson County medical examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the child’s head.

With the death of the toddler, Hopf’s charges were upgraded to Level 1 felony aggravated battery causing the death of a child less than 14 years of age.

The court also scheduled Hopf’s omnibus hearing for February 9. An omnibus hearing is a pretrial hearing to determine admissibility of evidence in the trial.