SAN DIEGO (CNS) - The former operator of a Clairemont daycare facility accused in the 2012 death of a baby pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of murder and assault on a child under 7 resulting in death.
James Patrick Nemeth, 38, of San Diego, was ordered held on $2 million bail. He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted in the death of 11-month-old Louis Michael Oliver.
Nemeth was arrested last Thursday.
Officers called to San Diego Daycare in the 4300 block of Mount Davis Avenue about 3:50 p.m. on May 23, 2012, found Louis Michael Oliver, unconscious, said Lt. Paul Rorrison of the San Diego Police Department's Homicide Unit. He died the next day. he was just days away from turning one year old.
Three months later, the medical examiner ruled the child's death a homicide, citing head trauma and spinal injuries.
Judge David Szumowski scheduled a bail review/status conference for next Monday and a preliminary hearing for Nov. 17.
CBS News 8 looked into Nemeth's history, and found in 2007 Social Services cited him at another daycare for providing alcohol to a minor under his care. That same year, he was cited again for having toxic cleaning products accessible to children, as well as being physically rough with his own child.