15-month-old girl killed by skull fracture. Signs of severe abuse led to dad being charged

A 15-month-old Lakewood girl showed signs of severe abuse before she died from “the worst” skull fracture doctors had seen in a young child, according to court records.

Nala Gantt was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center on Oct. 6 and died three days later. The Pierce County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide.

On Monday, Pierce County prosecutors charged her father, 42-year-old Matthew Gantt, with second-degree murder and tampering with a witness.

Gantt also is accused of trying to stop his wife of three years from speaking to detectives after Nala was hurt.

His wife, who is pregnant, had a broken arm and black eye she said she got after falling off the roof of their home while fixing a leak

Gamtt pleaded not guilty at arraignment, and Superior Court Commissioner Meagan Foley set bail at $5 million. Court records did not list an attorney for him.

Charging papers give this account:

Nala was unconscious and showed signs of abuse when paramedics took her to the hospital Oct. 6.

Her parents seemed “nervous and antsy” and claimed the girl regularly fell out of her crib, something Gantt said his daughter had done seven times that week.

He said Nala was in her crib in the living room when they heard her scream. His wife allegedly reached the girl first and picked her, but the girl went limp.

Gantt said he performed CPR while his wife called 911.

Officers noted Gantt refused to let his wife speak to police, insisted he wanted a lawyer even though he wasn’t yet under suspicion and became angry when officers said they’d need to interview him and his wife separately.

After Gantt and his wife were placed in different patrol cars, he allegedly called her on her cell phone and demanded she ignore officers’ questions.

At the hospital, Nala was placed on life support.

Doctors found she suffered from two fractured ribs and bruises on her legs, arms, back, stomach, head and face. She also was hemorrhaging in both eyes and had an extreme skull fracture that stretched 3.5 inches across the back of her head.

Five other fractures were healing.

A medical examiner noted “the extreme force used to create the fracture,” records state.

Doctors said Nala’s injuries could not have happened from falling out of a crib.

When police told Gantt they would not provide information about his daughter’s condition because he now was a suspect, he “ranted for some time and was difficult to understand,” according to the court records.

Nala died Oct. 9.

When notified of his daughter’s death, Gantt allegedly said, “This happens to people all the time. We can get through this. We could go to counseling and get through this.”

Gantt was arrested Friday.

This story was originally published October 15, 2018 at 11:41 AM.