Officers are investigating the death of a newborn in Jennings.

According to Jennings Police Chief Danny Semmes, officers received a call in the 800 block of Fourth Street of an unresponsive baby.

Officers arrived on scene to find the father conducting CPR on his 7-week-old child.

The child, identified as Freya Miller, was unresponsive when medics arrived at her home Monday night. Detectives said she was home with her father, James Ray Miller.

“The father called and stated that he heard the baby crying, went in to check on her, picked her up, and she went limp,” the Chief said. “We later determined through interviews that that wasn’t the case. The father was interviewed subsequently on July 23.”

Chief Semmes says the baby was known to have a heart condition. After first responders started CPR on her, she was rushed to Jennings American Legion Hospital where they managed to bring her pulse back.

The child was then flown to Women’s and Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. The hospital called the Jennings Police Department and said the baby suffered injuries consistent with shaking baby syndrome.

The child died last night.

“The baby had a bleed on the brain as well as a broken tibia, fractured rib, and a lacerated liver,” Chief Semmes said.

During the investigation, the father admitted to hurting his child, the chief said.

“He has been charged with second-degree cruelty to a juvenile based on the evidence that we received and an admission by the father during an interview that he had squeezed the baby and shaken the baby basically in a.. he was agitated,” Chief Semmes said.

Chief Semmes adds that his department does not know if James Ray Miller intentionally tried to kill his child, but there was anger that lead to it.

The case remains under investigation.

Investigators say depending on the results of an autopsy, Miller’s charges could be upgraded to first-degree murder.