The family of a
teenage father accused of beating his eight-month-old daughter to death is now speaking out, saying Jayden Straight would never harm his child and instead putting the blame on someone else.
"It's really sad because the baby is gone, Jayden is gone," says Carla Mickael, Straight's grandmother.
Mickael says Straight was very active in his daughter Raija's life and considered her a top priority. She says he would never want to harm the child.
"I think he’s being wrongfully accused of something that he never did."
Mickael says the accusations are false and claims the injuries came from the baby's mother a few days prior. She says the couple's relationship was unhealthy.
"He had noticed some bruising on the babies ribs after he got home," she says. "He knew something was wrong. He probably should have done something about that."
"He called us this morning and he told us all that he loved us. He sounds like hes willing to take the fall if that's what he has to do because he loves his child," Mickael says.