Man Called Toddler's Mother About Abnormal Breathing. Now He’s Accused of ‘Heinous, Despicable, Disgusting Crime’

A Kentucky man is accused of murdering a 18-month-old child he had been watching after the child suffered several serious injuries.

Police in Elizabethtown, Ky., say that Terrance Corbin, 20, was watching the child, as well as a 3-year-old, on Jan. 7 with no other adults present, according to a press release sent to PEOPLE.

At 4 p.m., police allege that Corbin called the mother of the children to report that the 18-month-old girl was breathing abnormally. Minutes later, he allegedly called 911 to report that the girl had stopped breathing.

“Our officers arrived, immediately recognized the child’s condition to be critical, and transported her to [the hospital],” Elizabethtown police public affairs officer Chris Denham said in the release. “She was subsequently airlifted to Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville.”

The child had suffered “substantial swelling and bleeding” about her scalp and face, plus skull fractures and hemorrhaging, according to the release. The child later died from her injuries. Corbin was arrested and charged with murder, according to police.

“A pediatrician who specializes in child abuse noted the child’s skull fractures were the worst they had encountered during their time practicing medicine,” Denham claimed.

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Police did not say what relationship Corbin had with the mother of the children.

Speaking to WDRB, Denham called the incident a “heinous, despicable, disgusting crime.”

“How could you do that to a baby?” he reportedly said. “I’m not sure.”

It is not immediately clear if Corbin has entered a plea or retained an attorney.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.