Man Faces Murder Charge in Beating Death of Infant Girl

LAKE FOREST —  A Lake Forest man will be charged with murder for the beating death of a 1-month-old girl who was left in his care, sheriff’s officials said Wednesday. Darrell Lewis, 28, was arrested Sunday after his wife had discovered the child had trouble breathing, Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson said. Lewis and his wife, Denise, had temporary custody over the child while the baby’s parents are serving jail time for drug charges.

Michelle Paramore, 28, gave birth on Nov. 2 while she was in a Los Angeles jail. Since then, Paramore and her husband, Daniel Bippus, 27, allowed the Lewises to care for Taylor, Wilkerson said.

Darrell Lewis was home alone with the child on Sunday while his wife went shopping. When she returned home, Denise Lewis noticed that the infant was having trouble breathing, Wilkerson said.

She took the child to Saddleback Memorial Hospital, where doctors treated the baby for broken ribs and a skull fracture, Wilkerson said. The baby died Tuesday night at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

After interviews with the Lewises and the attending doctor, officials booked Darrell Lewis at Orange County Jail on suspicion of child abuse with great bodily harm.

He remains at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail and will be arraigned today in Municipal Court in Laguna Niguel.