Father of 2-Year-Old Murdered in Austin Has Been Charged
Austin, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Milwaukee man has been charged with murdering his young daughter at an Austin motel last year.
A criminal complaint filed in Mower County Court charges 25-year-old Dariaz Higgins with second-degree murder. It's alleged he caused the death of 2-year-old Noelani, whose body was discovered in March 2019 wrapped in a blanket in the ditch along Highway 218 near Blooming Prairie.
The court documents indicate Higgins later told investigators the girl died after she fell off a toilet in the motel room and struck her head. An autopsy found Noelanidied from non-accidental blunt force trauma injuries to her head. The examination also found blunt force injuries to her extremities that were not constant with Higgins' version of events.
He is currently jailed In Milwaukee, where he is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of the little girl's mother.