San Diego parents accused of killing 3-month-old daughter

SAN DIEGO (TCD) -- A 22-year-old mother and 21-year-old father were arrested last week in connection to their infant daughter’s death.

According to KNSD-TV, on Nov. 10, officials responded to a report of an unresponsive infant at a home in the 3300 block of Maple Street in Covina del Sol around 11:15 p.m. Upon arrival, authorities tried resuscitating Delilah, the 3-month-old child. However, Delilah was reportedly transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that officers and took 21-year-old Brandon Ivan Copeland, the baby’s father, into custody along with the mother, 22-year-old Elizabeth Reneedawn Ucman. Jail records show Copeland was booked into the San Diego Central Jail, while Ucman is at the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility. They are both being held without bail.

Ucman’s grandmother Adrienne Arnett told KNSD that Delilah’s great-aunt received emergency custody right after she was born because Ucman and Copeland and their home were reportedly determined unfit. After reportedly tidying up their home about a month-and-a-half ago, Delilah was returned to Copeland and Ucman.

Arnett also told KNSD, "God only knows what that baby suffered between the time they got their hands on her till the time that baby died."

According to KNSD, Arnett initially tried to warn County Child Welfare Services not to give Delilah back to her parents. Arnett said, "Social services was told by every member of the family that she was dangerous. We knew the boy was dangerous."

In addition to Arnett’s concerns, a neighbor reportedly overheard the couple argue all the time, though she never knew the couple had a baby.

Ucman and Copeland were scheduled to appear in court on Monday, Nov. 15. Delilah's cause of death has not yet been released.

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