An Ohio man has changed his plea this week regarding the death of a 15-month-old girl. Initially pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, Michael Mayor, 34, now admits to slamming the toddler on the floor, resulting in her tragic demise.
Michael Mayor, 34, changed his plea in a hearing on Thursday, according to WHIO.
Mayor was taken into custody a few weeks after the incident that claimed the life of baby Vivian Gardner in December 2024. The child was left in Mayor’s care by his wife, who offers babysitting services in the Piqua area. She had entrusted the toddler to Mayor while she was dropping off other kids at school on December 5, according to CrimeOnline.
Upon her return, Mayor’s wife assumed the child was asleep. However, when the little girl remained unresponsive until 3 p.m., she became concerned and dialed 911. She described the child to the dispatchers as “pale, with bruises on her head, and she was uncertain of their origin,” as indicated in a police report.
The child was ultimately flown to Dayton Children’s Hospital for treatment, where a doctor said she had a fracture in the rear of her skull, a subdural hematoma, and other “complex” injuries that were caused by a “massive impact.”
She died on December 19.
In an interview, Mayor told detectives that the little girl wouldn’t stop crying when he was trying to put her down for a nap.
“He stated he ‘shook’ her and when she cried louder, he began to ‘slam’ her on the floor of the bedroom,” the police report said. “He stated this was not done on the blankets and he did this several times until she stopped crying.”
At that point, the report says, Mayor said he thought she had fallen alseep, so he walked away.
He was charged at that time with three counts of murder, felonious assault, and two counts of endangering children.
According to the plea deal, prosecutors dropped all but one count of murder, WHIO said. Sentencing has been set for August 5, and Mayor faces 15 years to life at that time, court records say.
