Wall Man Pleads Guilty In Death Of Newborn Daughter

WALL, NJ — A Wall Township man pleaded guilty Thursday in connection to the death of his six-week-old baby girl, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.

Austin Meli, 23, is facing a sentence of 30 years for his plea to aggravated manslaughter in the first degree.

Meli was first arrested on March 9, 2019 after the Wall Township Police Department responded to a home and found the six-week-old infant unresponsive. Police said at the time of her death, the infant girl was solely in the care of her father, Meli.

The infant was taken to Ocean Medical Center where she was pronounced dead, according to the prosecutor's office. After an initial investigation, more details of the infant's death were revealed, and they ruled the death as a homicide.

Meli is actually currently in prison after he was convicted of physically abusing his other child.

"He will be required to serve 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole," said the prosecutor's office.

Currently, Meli is serving a 10-year prison sentence for aggravated assault, two counts of child endangerment and evidence tampering related to the physical abuse of his other child, said the Monmouth prosecutor.