A local man has been charged with murder, after his 2-month-old daughter died at a Tallahassee, Fla., hospital over the past weekend, according to Bainbridge Public Safety officials.

Deonte Tvaris Smith, 21, of 6060 Hebrew Road, Donalsonville, Ga., is charged with murder and cruelty to children.

BPS Chief Investigator Frank Green said that Smith was arrested Tuesday afternoon by authorities in Seminole County and brought back to Decatur County by BPS Investigator Chris Jordan and Georgia Bureau of Investigations Agent Mike Walsingham.

Shortly before 11 p.m. last Thursday, BPS officers were notified that a 2-month-old girl had been brought in to the emergency room at Memorial Hospital in Bainbridge. The infant was subsequently transferred to Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial Hospital by ambulance, according to an incident report.

According to an incident report, the baby girl had been brought to Memorial Hospital by her parents.

At some point, medical personnel called the National Child Abuse Hotline, who then notified the Decatur County Department of Family and Children Services, Green said. A DFCS employee called BPS, who began investigating.

“We determined the injuries were inflicted upon the child,” Green said. “We can’t discuss the evidence at this time, but it led us to make an arrest.”

“The investigation is ongoing — we’re being very thorough in investigating this very serious matter.”