Dad kills 5-year-old daughter, then blames ex for angering him, Indiana cops say

An Indiana man told 911 his 5-year-old daughter fell down the stairs, but now he’s accused of killing her, police told news outlets.

Officers responded to an east Indianapolis address at about 11 a.m. Monday, May 19, and found the girl, Zara Arnold, inside the home, police told WRTV. Officers could see signs of trauma on the girl’s body and they performed life-saving measures, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

Despite his story that Zara fell, police say officers arrested her father on charges of murder and child neglect, the outlet reported.

The father has been identified as 41-year-old Zachary Arnold, WXIN reported.

Indianapolis police did not immediately respond to a McClatchy News request for information.

Detectives interviewed Zachary Arnold’s ex-girlfriend, who said she and Arnold had gotten into a fight on the phone a day before Zara’s death and that he had threatened to kill her, WISH reported, citing court documents. He also sent her several photos showing Zara “foaming at the mouth,” according to prosecutors.

During questioning, Arnold eventually told police that Zara hadn’t fallen down the stairs, but he had repeatedly choked her while he was arguing with his ex, officials said, the station reported. He said it was his ex’s fault, that “she drove him to do this,” according to police, though he said he had physically abused Zara other times.

Zara was alive when he went to bed, Arnold told police, but when he woke up she was “cold,” the outlet reported.

Arnold FaceTimed his ex-girlfriend and she answered to see him crying and trying to perform CPR on Zara, the woman told police, WTHR reported. She had witnessed Arnold abusing Zara but was too afraid of him to report it, police said.

Arnold told police that on Sunday night, after he had choked Zara, she told him she loved him and asked him why he hurts her, the station said. According to police, Arnold said she was struggling to breathe when she went to bed and that he should have kept a closer eye on her but he was too upset about his ex-girlfriend, the outlet reported.

“I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of 5-year-old Zara,” police chief Chris Bailey said in a May 20 post on X.

“No child should suffer such harm, especially in a place that should be safe: their home,” he said. “Thank you to our detectives for their quick and thorough work in making an arrest in this tragic case.”

This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Dad kills 5-year-old daughter, then blames ex for angering him, Indiana cops say."