Cops Say He Strangled His Daughter to Death — and Girlfriend Witnessed Something Awful the Day Prior: Reports

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says that Zachary Arnold confessed to murdering his 5-year-old daughter Zara Arnold on May 19, per court documents cited in the Indy Star, WTHR and WISH.

Arnold, 41, initially claimed that his daughter had fallen down the stairs when he called 911 to report she was not breathing that morning, according to the IMPD.

He then changed his story while being questioned by detectives with the IMPD, allegedly telling them that he strangled his daughter after having an argument with his girlfriend.

Detectives with the IMPD then spoke with Arnold’s girlfriend who confirmed that the two were fighting, and then allegedly said that she saw Zara being choked by her father.

The Indy Star and News8, citing court documents, report that Arnold sent his girlfriend “photos of Zara foaming at the mouth,” “called her on FaceTime while choking the girl” and “said to call 911 because he was going to hurt the little girl.”

She claims that she told him to stop but “thought he was just playing,” according to the court documents obtained by the Star and WTHR.

At no point did the girlfriend contact authorities or tell anyone about the photo, what she saw on FaceTime or the threat Arnold allegedly made about his daughter, per the documents cited by WTHR and the Star. The girlfriend later told police that she did not call 911 because she was afraid of Arnold.

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Arnold had previously been charged with rape in 2020, but managed to get that charge dismissed in a plea deal with prosecutors, according to a sentencing order obtained by PEOPLE.

He had also been charged with violating protective orders filed by Zara’s mother on at least three occasions, per the sentencing order. It shows that he entered a guilty plea to an invasion of privacy charge just days before his daughter’s death.

The judge in that case sentenced Arnold to 360 days in county jail but then suspended all 360 days, allowing him to return home.

That was on May 12, a week before Zara’s death.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Marion County Coroner’s Office told PEOPLE that Zara’s cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries and her manner of death was homicide.

Meanwhile, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office is waiting for police to complete their investigation before filing charges against Arnold.

He is now being held at the Adult Detention Center and is facing charges of murder and neglect of a dependent. The IMPD says more charges could be filed, as the investigation is ongoing.

The probable cause affidavit also notes that Arnold blames his actions on his girlfriend, telling detectives that “she did this” to him and her actions are “making him out to be a monster.”

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.