A 2-year-old Hoover girl is dead and police now say she was the victim of homicide.

Levi Ellise Pointer died one week ago today – on Thursday, Sept. 21. Hoover police today announced a murder charge against 19-year-old Dlonta Khalil Melton, the boyfriend of Levi’s mother.

“This has been a somewhat complicated case and we’ve been very thorough and methodical in our efforts,” said Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector. “For five days, Melton told no one that he had knowledge of the injury that caused this poor baby’s death. Today we begin the process of holding him accountable for his actions.”

Levi is the third child to die in the Birmingham metro area in one week – two of them by violent crimes. On Tuesday, 18-month-old Ta”leah Nicole Alexander-Burke died at Children’s of Alabama in what the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office ruled was homicide by blunt force trauma. On Monday, 3-year-old Dra Kadyn Hudson died after he was left in his grandmother’s vehicle for about eight hours while she was at work at Miles College. That case remains under investigation.

Hoover police responded at 3:49 p.m. on Sept. 21 to a 911 call from The Retreat at Rocky Ridge apartments, said Capt. Gregg Rector. The call was placed by Melton, describing an unknown medical issue involving Levi.

Firefighters arrived on the scene within four minutes, and found Levi in severe distress, Rector said. Hoover police detectives immediately responded to the hospital and launched their investigation. Melton, who was the sole caregiver of Levi that day, could not provide any explanation as to what may have caused the child to be in distress.

She was rushed to Children’s of Alabama where she was pronounced dead six hours later, at 9:45 p.m. The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, Rector said, determined that Levi suffered a significant skull fracture.

Melton was taken into custody Tuesday by Hoover police and has remained detained pending formal charges against him which were issued by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office Thursday morning. He will be transferred to the Jefferson County Jail with bond set at $50,000.

“From the very beginning we were determined to find the truth for Levi and her mother,” said Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis. “We also wanted to make certain that we got this case right because we have a victim who can no longer speak for herself.”

“This child will never get the opportunity to grow up,” the chief said, “and we have an obligation to her family to do everything we can to give them some small measure of justice and closure.”

Levi’s death was followed by the deaths of two more young children, all within seven days.