Man who was hit by train killed his baby with a pillow, admitted murder in recording, police say

An Iowa man charged in the death of his 2-month-old daughter killed her by placing pillows on her face and admitted to murdering her in a recorded message, authorities said in court records.

Calvin Curtis White, 29, of Nevada was charged with first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death after his daughter was found not breathing Jan. 29 and later died, police said. White was hit by a train after the 911 call and was arrested Friday when he was released from the hospital.

In court documents, authorities said an analysis of White's phone found a recorded message, in which he admitted to killing the infant by placing pillows on her face to prevent from hearing her cry. Paraphrasing White, officials said he knew he had been "slowly killing her for awhile," according to court records.

Documents did not disclose any other information about the recording. Officials with the police department and the Story County Attorney's Office could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

The infant's mother called 911 at about 2:15 p.m. that day after she arrived at their home in the 200 block of West M Avenue and found her daughter not breathing, Nevada Public Safety Director Ricardo Martinez has said. The baby was rushed to Story County Medical Center and died less than two hours later.

About 15 minutes after the baby's mother called police, White was struck by a Union Pacific train traveling through Nevada, Martinez said. A spokeswoman for the railroad company said the train was heading westbound to Wyoming when he was struck.

White was found suffering from injuries to his face and upper torso about a mile west of County Road S-14, the public safety director said. He was taken to a Des Moines hospital for treatment and was arrested Friday, when he was discharged.

An autopsy was performed Wednesday, though additional information about the examination was not available Tuesday evening.

The county attorney's office has subpoenaed a number of records that include footage from two locomotives that traveled through Nevada that day.

White remained Tuesday at the Story County Jail on a $1 million bond. In court documents, he said he does not have a job and that two children lived with him. Police said he was the sole caregiver of his daughter at the time.

Nevada police are being assisted by the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations.