Indy man gets 77 years for 'horrendous and senseless' murder of 3-year-old

An Indianapolis man was sentenced Friday to 77 years in prison after he murdered his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter and injured her other two young children.

Freddie Bailey pleaded guilty earlier this year to murder and two felony counts of battery, Marion Superior Court records show. The other two children were then ages 1 and 5.

Three-year-old Amabel Calderon died in 2014 of massive head trauma. Her eyes were bruised and swollen. Bruises covered her body. She had bite marks all over her arms and legs.

"The torture and murder of Amabel is without question one of the most horrendous and senseless crimes we have witnessed during my seven years in office," Prosecutor Terry Curry said in a statement earlier this year. "By this resolution, Freddie Bailey will appropriately spend the majority, if not all, of his life in prison."

Read about other Central Indiana crimes:

Zionsville middle school teacher admits to child solicitation

Convicted pedophile says he shouldn't face child molesting trial

Bailey and Amabel's mother, Maria Calderon, initially told investigators that one of their three dogs knocked Amabel between the bathtub and toilet on Dec. 22, 2014, causing bruises, according to Marion Superior Court records. Calderon was at work at the time.

Bailey later admitted he forced Amabel to stand in a corner for six hours. He said he lost his temper when she kept turning her head instead of staring at the wall as he told her to, according to court records.

Bailey said he repeatedly shoved Amabel's head and face into the wall, at least 10 times, court records said.

She started having seizures.

Calderon told police that Bailey called her at work to say Amabel looked bad and had a pretty big knot on her head. She said Bailey sounded panicked.

Calderon found someone to cover for her at work and then headed home.

Amabel fell asleep and wouldn't wake up. She ground her teeth so strongly that Calderon said it sounded as if the little girl might break a tooth, court records said. They stuck a plastic retail rewards card in her mouth to minimize the grinding.

Calderon said she and Bailey spent an hour trying to wake up Amabel. They called her name and put her in a warm bath with her clothes on, court records said. Calderon said she didn't want to pull the shirt off or mess with her daughter's head because it looked swollen and painful.

They eventually decided to take her to the emergency room.

On the way, they dropped off Calderon's 5-year-old son at a friend's house — even as Amabel remained unconscious and continued to have seizures.

Amabel was pronounced brain dead the next day. She was kept on life support until Christmas Day, when some of her organs were donated, according to the Marion County coroner's office.

Maria Calderon pleaded guilty last year to felony neglect of a dependent resulting in death, Marion Superior Court records show. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by five years in Marion County Community Corrections.

"While we grieve the loss of Amabel, we continually think of her two siblings who lived in the same room and endured cruel and senseless abuse of their own at the hands of Freddie Bailey," Curry said Friday in a statement. "We hope that they are given the opportunities of the safe and healthy lives that they deserve, free of fear from further abuse."

Call Star reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at (317) 444-6135. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyMarisaK.