NJ Cop, Wife Indicted In Death Of 3-Month-Old Daughter

EWING TOWNSHIP – A New Jersey police officer and his wife have been indicted in the death of their 3-month old daughter, according to the Mercer Couty Prosecutor's Office.

A Mercer County grand jury returned a three-count indictment this week charging the Ewing Township police officer and his wife in the December 2018 death of their daughter, Hailey, according to an MCPO release.

Daniel Bannister, 31, was indicted on one count of first-degree murder while Catherine Bannister was indicted on one count of second-degree reckless manslaughter. Both the husband and wife were additionally indicted on one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, according to the MCPO.

On December 5, 2018, Ewing Township Emergency Medical Services responded to the Bannister’s Ewing home on a 911 call for an unresponsive three-month-old baby having difficulty breathing.

Emergency medical technicians assessed the baby, who was not breathing and in cardiac arrest. The baby, later identified as Hailey Bannister, was transported to Capital Health Medical Center-Hopewell, where medical personnel determined Hailey suffered a fractured skull, brain bleed and had multiple fractured ribs, according to the MCPO.

Hailey was initially listed in critical condition and transferred from Capital Health to Robert Wood
Johnson Children’s Hospital in New Brunswick. But she died on December 11, 2018.

Read more: Shocking Details Describe Abuse By NJ Cop Accused Of Killing Baby