Father charged in death of young daughter

BLOOMINGTON -- A McLean County judge has ordered a Bloomington man held on $1 million bond in the fatal beating of his 14-month-old daughter.

Prosecutors charged 47-year-old Jeff Meece with three counts of first-degree murder Friday in the death of his daughter, Erika.

Police say they found the severely injured girl in the family home Thursday after arresting Meece, who had been spotted smashing the windows of the house with a baseball bat. Officers said they used a Taser and pepper spray on Meece after he refused to put down the bat.

Erika was pronounced dead late Friday morning at OSF St. Francis Hospital in Peoria, where she was transferred Thursday.

Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll said the child suffered skull fractures and hemorrhaging and was brain dead on arrival.