Man Arrested in Death Of Baby Daughter

A Queens man was arrested yesterday on murder charges after his baby daughter died while in his care over the weekend.

The man, Peter O'Keeffe, 35, had been watching the 13-month-old child while her mother went shopping for two hours on Saturday evening, according to police. When the mother returned, she found the baby, Jessica O'Keeffe, lying unconscious in their home on 117th Street in Ozone Park.

Police responded to the mother's frantic 911 call at around 6:45 Saturday evening, and the baby was taken to Jamaica Hospital, according to a police account. The baby died there about 45 minutes later.

Police said they arrested Mr. O'Keeffe yesterday after locating him at his mother's house, and said he did not have a criminal record. He now faces charges of murder and child endangerment, police said. A spokeswoman for the Administration for Children's Services said she could not comment about whether the agency had prior contact with the family.