Suspect: Baby choked on toilet paper

Joshua Andrew Stepp, who has been charged with the first degree murder and sexual assault of his 10-month-old stepdaughter told a 911 dispatcher that the child was choking on toilet paper, the N.C. Medical Examiner's Office reported this afternoon.

The child was unresponsive when police found her Sunday night at a third floor apartment at 1223 Silver Sage Drive in West Raleigh, authorities reported.

Stepp, 26, of 1223 Silver Sage Drive, Apt. 306, was charged Monday with first-degree murder and first-degree sexual offense, court records show.

Neighbors at The Villas apartment complex said they had never seen Stepp at the apartment, but often saw the child strapped in a car seat with her mother. Neighbors who live just below Stepp's third floor apartment said today that they heard noise punctuated by a child's cries and what sounded like a squeaking sound across the floor, as if someone was cleaning the carpet.

Police found Cheyanet shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday at Stepp's apartment and transported her to the WakeMed Raleigh Campus, where she was later pronounced dead.

Stepp appeared before Judge Craig Croom this afternoon and asked for a court-appointed attorney.

In the brief court appearance, the judge read the charges and set no bail.

The next court date is scheduled for Dec. 2.

Latest Comment View all comments

Images