Jeffrey Deats, the Batavia resident arrested Dec. 18 following the investigation into the death of a 6-month-old boy, died Monday, Batavia PD announced this afternoon.
Deats was found hanging from a bed sheet in his Genesee County Jail cell the night of Dec. 21. CPR was performed by jail staff and Deats was transported to UMMC and later ECMC.
As a result of his death, the criminal case against Deats is closed, Chief Shawn Heubusch said.
Chandler Zuchs died Dec. 14 while in the care of Deats.
At the time, Deats believed he was the father of Chandler, though after his arrest, DNA test results surfaced that showed an Albion resident was the infant's father.
In his statement to police during the investigation, Deats said the boy's mother, Michelle Zuchs, of Tonawanda, alternately told Deats he was the father and wasn't the father, and finally told him she had DNA test results back, apparently leading Deats to believe he was the father.
One account Deats gave of how Chandler may have suffered brain damage, which was the cause of the baby's death, was that he fell down the stairs of his Olyn Avenue home while carrying Chandler.
Deats was 28 years old.
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