Father faces murder charge in infant’s death

A first-degree murder charge was filed Monday against a Gardnerville Ranchos man accused of causing the death of his infant daughter.

Trent Getty, 23, is being held in Sacramento jail pending extradition back to Douglas County.

Ava Getty was brought in to the emergency room at about 2:13 a.m. Jan. 7. According to court documents, her father provided little information about what happened to the baby. He left the medical center before investigators arrived to question him about the baby’s injuries. She was helicoptered to Renown Regional Medical Center’s pediatric intensive care center with massive head trauma.

Investigators sought Getty early that morning and he was found by Carson City authorities. He agreed to return to Douglas County to give a statement, where he told investigators he picked Ava up from her grandmother’s house earlier that night. He said he put her in her swing with a bottle and went to sleep on the couch. When he woke up he saw she’d fallen over with the swing. He said she’d fallen out of the swing before and he was trying to remember to strap her in.

Because they didn’t have any additional information about Ava’s condition, investigators released him at 4:40 a.m.

By 9:10 a.m. that day, investigators learned from Reno hospital officials the pressure on Ava’s brain was too great, and she would not be able to sustain life on her own.

According to court documents, doctors told investigators it appeared she’d suffered some trauma similar to shaken baby syndrome.

The child was taken off life support early Saturday morning. An autopsy revealed blunt force trauma. It was announced Getty was arrested at the Sacramento Greyhound Station later that morning.

Child Protective Services had been monitoring Getty since Ava tested positive for opiates at birth.

According to court documents, Ava’s mother had left the child in Getty’s care after Thanksgiving.