Mankato man sentenced to 15 years in murder of 2-month-old daughter

A Mankato man was sentenced to 15 years in prison in St. Cloud in connection with the death of his two-month-old daughter in 2021.

Kristopher Dale Arlando Henderson, 41, was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and three counts of malicious punishment of a child. He was only convicted on the murder charge, with the other charges being dismissed, according to court documents.

Henderson has credit for 526 days served.

On Sept. 24, 2021, a detective with the Mankato Department of Public Safety was made aware of possible physical child abuse. A two-month-old girl was brought to the hospital the previous day by her mother and father — Henderson.

When medical providers examined the infant, they found the presence of intracranial hemorrhage without the evidence of a skull fracture, facial bruising, bruising inside her mouth, and fractures to both femurs, her left tibia and several ribs, court officials said.

Henderson’s daughter died at the hospital on Nov. 3, 2021.

Court documents show that Henderson tried to blame the family cat for his daughter’s injuries.

A doctor who examined the infant stated, “The 20lb cat that father states was around the infant, is not the cause of these injuries.”

Eventually, Henderson admitted to a detective that he had struck his daughter more forcefully than usual for around five minutes. When asked if he thought he had hit his daughter hard enough to break her ribs, Henderson said that he did, court records show.