Bond set at $2M for Defiance man accused of killing 5-month-old baby

1/30/2014

STRYKER, Ohio — Bond was set at $2 million for the Defiance man accused of killing a 5-month-old baby, authorities said today.

James L. Cooper, 29, was indicted Wednesday in Defiance Municipal Court on one charge each of murder and felonious assault in the death of Lylah Wilson, who died Sunday in Toledo Hospital. Mr. Cooper was being held on the bond at Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio near Stryker, according to the Defiance County prosecutor's office.

Defiance County Prosecuting Attorney Morris Murray said the child died from closed head injuries to the brain. The official cause of death was pending the results of an autopsy performed by the Lucas County Coroner's Office.

The baby was taken to the hospital on Friday after Defiance police and firefighters, responding to a report of a child not breathing, found the victim at a Corwin Street address in Defiance about 7:05 a.m., police said.

Stryker, in Williams County, is about 50 miles west of Toledo.