A man charged with murder in the early February death of his infant daughter was denied bond Friday and remains behind bars at the Thomas County Jail.

Damien Allan Holloway, 21, 1525 Summerhill Road, Lot 10, is charged with killing his nine-month-old daughter, Madelyn Brooke Holloway.

Autopsy results show the cause of death was a traumatic closed head injury on Feb. 2, said Steve Turner, special agent in charge of the Thomasville regional office of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

In addition to murder, the baby’s father is charged with first-degree cruelty to children.

The death is being attributed to “shaken baby,” said Lt. Tim Watkins, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office chief investigator.

The child was injured at 35 Marcia Lane, where she lived with her parents at the time, Turner said, adding that the injury occurred while the suspect was taking care of the baby. The child’s mother was not present when the fatal injury occurred.

The baby was first taken to Archbold Memorial Hospital before being transferred to Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial Hospital (TMH). Personnel at the Tallahassee hospital notified the Thomas County Department of Family and Children Services about the possible cause of injuries. The sheriff’s office and GBI joined the investigation, and the baby’s family members were interviewed.

“The doctors that saw the child at TMH reported it was possibly shaken baby because of the injury, both internally and externally,” Watkins said.

The autopsy was performed in Florida. Holloway is charged here, because the fatal injury occurred in Thomas County, Watkins explained.

“The child had bruising on her extremities that would be consistent with being held very firmly,” the investigator said Friday.

The father was interviewed and arrested late Thursday afternoon.

If Holloway wishes to pursue bond after being denied Friday by Thomas County Chief Magistrate Andy Seery, he must petition Thomas County Superior Court for a bond hearing. Magistrate Court bond denial is automatic on a murder charge.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820.