Shelby man charged with drowning 2-year-old

Shelby police charged a 20-year-old man with murder after the 2-year-old girl he was taking care of drowned in a bathtub Wednesday.

The girl was unresponsive when officers were called out to 1526 Eaves Road, Apartment K-1, around 9 p.m., Chief Jeff Ledford said. She was taken to Cleveland Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Ledford said it was initially reported that the girl was taking a bath and later found unresponsive by her caregiver, Wesley Paul Canipe, of 110 Knob Creek Drive in Lawndale. However, investigators determined that Canipe drowned the girl.

Canipe was charged with murder and intentional child abuse. He was being held in the Cleveland County Jail Friday without bond.

The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the girl's death continues, Ledford said.