A Lexington, Kentucky father will spend at least the next 25 years behind bars after pleading guilty to murdering his own infant daughter — a crime his young children were forced to witness with their own eyes.
Syied Malik-Kawon Epps, 31, fatally injured 9-month-old Sy’kia Epps on July 26, 2023, by slamming the baby girl onto her head. Sy’kia was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening brain trauma. She fought for four days before losing her life. She never had a chance.
What made this case even more chilling was who saw it happen. Three young children — Sy’kia’s own siblings — were present in the home at the time. When investigators spoke with them, the children didn’t hold back.
“Daddy smashed her on her head really hard and she was upside down.” — A child witness, as recalled by Lexington Police Detective Paul Hogan in court
All three children told investigators the same thing: their father had dropped their baby sister on her head. Their words, delivered with the brutal honesty only a child can offer, became the backbone of the prosecution’s case.
When police first arrived, Epps tried to cover his tracks. He told officers his daughter had been injured while in the care of a babysitter — giving only a first name and a vague physical description. No phone number. No last name. Nothing that could be verified. Investigators weren’t convinced.
Security camera footage told a completely different story. The footage placed Epps at the scene during the exact timeframe he claimed he wasn’t there. His lie collapsed almost immediately.
Investigators also revealed a deeply disturbing detail about what was unfolding in the home that day. Epps had been in a heated argument with the children’s mother while she was at work. During that argument, he reportedly referred to his own children as “roaches” — and threatened that if she wasn’t home on time, he would leave them waiting outside on the porch.
Epps was arrested the very next day on assault charges. When Sy’kia died four days later, that charge became murder.
He has since pleaded guilty. Authorities are recommending a 25-year prison sentence. His sentencing is scheduled for July 1.
Sy’kia Epps was nine months old. She had her whole life ahead of her. The man who took it from her — her own father — will now have decades to sit with what he did. For the siblings who watched it happen, no sentence will ever be long enough.
