Whitney Downard / The Meridian StarJoseph Cody Carlisle appeared Monday in Meridian City Court.

The Meridian City Court held the initial hearing for a case concerning the 2015 death of a 2-year-old girl and determined that police had enough evidence to bind the father over to the next available grand jury. 

Meridian Police on March 17 arrested and charged Joseph Cody Carlisle, the father of the 2-year-old, with manslaughter and culpable negligence in the death of the child. 

Police said the child had apparently been struck on the head and said Carlisle, 31, did not seek medical treatment for his daughter. A 5-year-old witness told interviewers that she saw Carlisle hit the child with his Jeep, slam her on the hood of the Jeep, spank her and then put her to bed.

The child died in 2015 but detectives said results from the evidence collected weren’t released from the state crime lab until this year. 

The medical examiner who performed the autopsy determined that the child suffered and died from blunt force injuries to her head. But he told detectives that the child didn’t have any abrasions or fractures to her spine or skull, indicating that she had not been hit with a tire. The examiner said some of the injuries could be from hitting a bumper or the undercarriage of a car but that she had additional head trauma. 

The examiner told detectives the injuries and need for medical attention would have been apparent immediately after the incident. 

The child and Carlisle lived with Carlisle’s girlfriend on the 2300 block of 41st Street with her two children, aged 4 and 5. The girlfriend told police that she had gone to bed after an argument with Carlisle and found the child, motionless but still alive, the next morning. 

Police said the girlfriend called 911 and an ambulance took the child to Rush Foundation Hospital, where she was flown by helicopter to Jackson for treatment. Surgeons discovered brain swelling and determined that life support should be stopped. She died within 24 hours of the incident. he

The state crime lab, however, was unable to match evidence gathered from the Jeep to the child.

Judge Robbie Jones determined that it was probable that Carlisle had committed the crime and neglected to get medical attention for his daughter after the incident. 

Jones reduced Carlisle’s bond from $500,000 to $250,000. Carlisle may not be able to bond out because he is on parole for a previous unrelated charge.