Police investigate girl's death as homicide; Doctors find earlier bone breaks suffered before fatal skull fracture

Author: Conrad deFiebre; Staff Writer

A 10-month-old Lakeville girl whose death from a fractured skull is being investigated as a homicide had suffered previous broken bones, police said Thursday.

Jessica McClure died Tuesday at Minneapolis Children's Medical Center after being removed from a respirator. Police and paramedics had found her unconscious and not breathing Sunday on the kitchen floor of her home. After an autopsy, the Hennepin County medical examiner's office said she died of "blunt-force injuries."

Julie McClure, the child's mother, first told police that her daughter had fallen from a standing position, then said she had fallen earlier from a kitchen counter. "Investigation is continuing to determine whether the child's injuries are consistent with the explanation," Police Chief Don Gudmundson said.

He said McClure and her husband, Robert, have another preschool daughter, and "Dakota County child protection has been involved from the outset." Police had never been called to the McClure home on Iceland Trail before Sunday, Gudmundson said.

Investigators searched the house on Monday. They also have obtained search warrants for Jessica's medical records to determine if she was treated for previous fractures, Gudmundson said. They were discovered by doctors at the hospital and the medical examiner's office, he said.

No arrests have been made. Gudmundson said the case will be referred in several weeks to Dakota County prosecutors after police and the medical examiner complete their investigations.