Poplar Bluff man arrested following toddler's death

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man is being held in Butler County jail on $1 million cash-only bond after his arrest following the death of a 4-year-old Zoey Slagler.

An autopsy performed in Farmington, Mo., Saturday morning showed the cause of death to be "blunt force trauma," said Butler County Coroner Jim Akers.

Jeremy McIntosh, 28, of the 200 block of East Midland Street was arrested after he admitted during questioning that he struck the child several times because she would not obey him and continued to cry wanting her mother and father, said police chief Danny Whiteley in a prepared release.

The preliminary investigation indicates severe bruising on large areas of the girl's body and head. It is believed the head trauma may have been a contributing factor in the death, Whiteley said.

Whiteley said the initial investigation by officers determined the child's mother, Jennifer Thrower, and stepfather, Adam Thrower, had left the child at the next door neighbor's house on Thursday. The child was to spend the night at the residence of Jamie and Jeremy McIntosh.

About 4 p.m. Friday, Jennifer Thrower called Jeremy McIntosh and told him she was on her way home. McIntosh said he would take the child to her house before she got there.

When she got home, she found the child unresponsive and ran to another neighbor's house and called 911.

When police arrived they found the girl had no pulse and wasn't breathing. An ambulance arrived and transported the child to the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center Emergency Room where she was pronounced dead.

McIntosh is being held in Butler County on a felony charge of child abuse resulting in a death. He also is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder, according to reports.

Whiteley said the investigation is continuing. Additional charges are pending the results of an autopsy that was conducted Saturday morning in Farmington.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, MO