A Maine father with a lengthy rap sheet has been charged with murder after his 12-week-old daughter died from injuries sustained while her dad was caring for her solo for the first time.
Shawn Samuels, 24, made the initial 911 call, telling dispatchers that his newborn baby Lyla Samuels was “turning blue,” at around 11:40 a.m. on Jan. 16 from the family home in Orrington, near Bangor.
“She went limp and she turned blue around her eyes and mouth,” Samuels told the dispatcher, according to an affidavit by state police Detective Denvery Roy, seen by the Press Herald.
The dispatcher told Samuels to start CPR, and three minutes into the call, a crying sound could be heard in the background, the affidavit said.
While en route, emergency services were told by the dispatcher that a relative had called and reported that Samuels “is alone with the child for the first time,” as Lyla’s mother, Leah Collins, had been on maternity leave up until that point, the Boston Globe reported.
Samuels sent Lyla’s mother multiple Snapchat pictures to update her on the morning of Jan. 16, and denied he had gotten violent with his daughter, according to the affidavit.
“Samuels states he never shook Lyla Samuels, he was not forceful with her, nor was he angry with her,” Det. Roy wrote in the affidavit.
The father, who has previous charges for domestic violence and stalking, admitted that he “bounced his daughter up and down and he slightly swung her side to side in his arms,” to stop her crying, according to the affidavit.
Emergency services performed CPR on the baby to get her breathing again, before rushing her to a hospital in Bangor, police said.
Due to her shocking injuries, Lyla’s father was arrested on Jan. 17 on charges of domestic violence elevated aggravated assault (Class A) and two counts of violation of bail (Class E), Maine State Police said in a statement.
The infant had retinal hemorrhages in both of her eyes, indicating abusive head trauma, as well as multiple rib fractures at various stages of healing, according to the affidavit.
Lyla died on Jan. 18, with an autopsy finding she had died from multiple injuries and the manner of death was homicide, according to the affidavit.
Samuels was subsequently charged with murder while in custody at the Penobscot County Jail on the earlier charges, state police said.
He was arraigned via video and pleaded not guilty at the Penobscot County Judicial Center in Bangor last Wednesday, where he was ordered held on $250,000 bail.
Samuels is due in court next on Feb. 13.
He was already due to face trial next month on six charges of domestic violence assault, stalking, and restraint, after being indicted in May 2025, according to court records obtained by the Bangor Daily News.
Samuels was previously indicted on two counts of domestic violence aggravated assault, two counts of domestic violence assaults, one criminal restraint and one domestic violence stalking, all taking place in 2022 and 2023, court records show.
A previous partner alleged that he tried to strangle her “10 to 15 times,” and physically restrained her during arguments, as well as following her around town in his car, according to the affidavit seen by the Bangor Daily News.
On one occasion, he picked her up and physically threw her out of his apartment, causing her to break her middle finger as she hit the ground, the affidavit states.
Lyla’s mother told the police that Samuels could “get angry fast,” but said that he had never been violent or abusive to her in the relationship, the Bangor Daily News reported.
A GoFundMe raising money for Lyla’s family had already exceeded its target of $10,000 by Monday morning.
“This family is loved by so many people. They would never ask for this type of support on their own, but we refuse to allow them to suffer alone or assume this burden without the support of their friends, family, and community,” the appeal reads.
