BANGOR, Maine — A former Maine man accused of assaulting and causing the death of his 2-year-old daughter did not enter a plea during his first court appearance on Monday in New Hampshire, according to media reports.
Roger Joseph Dana, 43, is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death last month of his daughter, Madison Dana. He appeared Monday in the 1st Circuit, District Division Court in Lancaster, New Hampshire, according to Portland television station WGME, CBS 13.
The child was found injured on Nov. 27 inside the home she shared with her mother and Roger Joseph Dana at 109 York St. in Berlin, New Hampshire, CBS 13 reported earlier this week. She was taken to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin, where she later was pronounced dead.
An autopsy determined that her cause of death was blunt impact injuries and her manner of death was homicide.
Dana’s arrest was announced in a news release issued on Dec. 2 by New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph A. Foster, New Hampshire State Police Col. Christopher Wagner and Berlin Police Chief Peter Morency.
The news release stated that Dana was charged with murder “for recklessly causing her death under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life, by physically assaulting Madison multiple times.”
The New Hampshire Union Leader reported that Dana has a history of domestic violence, with a September 2015 conviction for assaulting a woman.
According to George Pinder, an uncle of Dana’s from Massachusetts who contacted the Bangor Daily News on Thursday, Dana is a former resident of Bangor and Perry.