Court records show Christopher Evans previously served prison time after being convicted in a case involving his infant son.
CINCINNATI — A previous conviction involving serious injuries to Christopher Evans’ infant son has become a focus of the new murder case against the Cincinnati father, who is now accused of causing the death of his 24-day-old daughter.
Evans, 34, was arrested Sept. 10 on charges of murder, felonious assault and child endangerment after his daughter, Naomi Evans, died at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Police said Naomi was found unresponsive after officers were called Sept. 5 to the 6000 block of Red Bank Road in the Kennedy Heights neighborhood. She died Sept. 6.
The current charges brought renewed attention to a Warren County case involving Evans’ infant son in 2015. Court records reviewed by local news organizations show the boy was about 3 weeks old when he suffered serious injuries. Evans was later prosecuted on charges stemming from the child’s injuries.
Records from the earlier case show Evans admitted to investigators that he had become frustrated while caring for his son and had handled the baby roughly. Court documents also described an incident in which the infant was thrown onto a wood-framed changing table and struck part of the table. Medical testing identified serious injuries, and authorities opened a child abuse investigation.
A Warren County jury convicted Evans in 2017, and a judge sentenced him to three years in prison with credit for time already served. Evans appealed, arguing in part that the evidence was insufficient to prove he caused his son’s injuries. The 12th District Court of Appeals rejected his arguments and upheld the conviction and sentence in 2018.
Evans did not remain imprisoned for the entire three-year term. Court records reviewed by WCPO show that a Warren County judge granted him judicial release in December 2018 after he had served 733 days, slightly more than two years. The court determined that he qualified for release and that a non-prison sanction could adequately punish him and protect the public.
The prior case surfaced prominently during Friday’s proceedings in the death of Naomi. Prosecutors compared the allegations in the two cases and argued that the earlier history should be considered when setting bond. Investigators also described similarities between the cases. Those comparisons are allegations made during the pending proceeding and do not establish Evans’ guilt in his daughter’s death.
Evans’ attorney challenged the prosecution’s framing and urged the judge to consider questions surrounding the medical diagnosis of abusive injuries in infants. The defense cited scientific debate about some child abuse diagnoses and argued that medical evaluations can be affected by bias. A court has not yet ruled on the underlying evidence in Naomi’s death.
A judge ultimately set Evans’ bond at $2 million: $1 million for the murder charge and $500,000 each for the felonious assault and child endangerment charges. The Cincinnati Police Department has said its Homicide Unit is continuing to investigate Naomi’s death, and Evans has not been convicted of any charge in the new case.
Author note: Last updated September 12, 2026.