Court docs: Indiana DCS, police were warned about man jailed in 5-year-old daughter's death
Editor's note: This article contains descriptions of child abuse. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the Indiana Department of Child Services' Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-800-5556. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All adults are mandated reporters in Indiana.
Before she drew her last breath, 5-year-old Zara Arnold asked her father why he hurt her.
'After he stopped choking her the last time that night, Zara told him she was tired and climbed into bed,' her father told investigators, according to a probable cause affidavit for his arrest.
She told her father she loved him as her eyes closed for what police believe was the final time inside a house in the 200 block of North Lasalle Street on the east side of Indianapolis.
The morning of May 19, a 911 call claimed Zara had fallen down the stairs. First responders found the little girl cold, stiff and covered in bruises. The coroner would note abrasions and ligature marks on the girl's neck and chin.
Zachary Arnold, the girl's 41-year-old father, later told Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigators that she never fell down the stairs. He admitted that he'd strangled her the night before after becoming enraged during an argument with his girlfriend.
He said he should have gone back to check on his daughter, as he 'always went back to check on her after choking her,' detectives wrote, quoting Arnold. But he didn't this time because he was "so upset" with his girlfriend.
"Zachary said (his girlfriend) did this to him and is making him out to be a monster," detectives wrote.
The father stands preliminarily charged with neglect of a dependent and murder. An official cause of death remains under investigation.
Arnold's girlfriend told police that while she wasn't home during the attack, the couple spent May 18 and May 19 arguing through social media, phone calls and text messages.
While she was out of the house, Arnold sent her photos of Zara foaming at the mouth. Arnold then called her on FaceTime while choking the girl. He said to call 911 because he was going to hurt the little girl, according to court documents. She told him to stop, but "thought he was just playing," she told police.
Later, she said she didn't call 911 because she feared Arnold.
Court documents and police reports filed during Zara's life suggest a childhood marked by instability and pain. Her mother told police at least three times that the girl was abused by her father. In November 2020, an officer 'observed visible bruising and what appeared to be red hand marks' on the then 9-month-old girl.
At least one of her mother's allegations resulted in an investigation by the Indiana Department of Children's Services, according to court documents filed in a stalking case. It's unclear what, if any, interventions were made by the state agency responsible for children's welfare. "We do not have statutory authority to release any records related to Zara Arnold, due to an ongoing police investigation or criminal prosecution," a DCS paralegal wrote.
Another report made to DCS claimed that Arnold used methamphetamines in front of his daughter and was violent with both Zara and his girlfriend. Zara denied the allegations in an interview with DCS. It's unclear who made this report and when it was investigated, though.
None of the child abuse allegations ever resulted in criminal charges – instead, only protective orders that were repeatedly broken, according to court documents.
Arnold's father faced three separate charges within a month in 2020 for continuing to contact her mother against her will. Once, on the day after he was released from jail, he threatened her in a recorded video call: 'I am coming to your house tonight. I will kill you.' That was one of several death threats, which the girl's mother believed were at least in part due to a custody disagreement.
The custody case, which began shortly after the girl's birth in 2020, remained open at the time of publication. Court records show that Arnold's legal advocate withdrew from the case in June 2024. The advocate's organization, Kids' Voice of Indiana, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zara's mother told police she lost custody of her daughter and hadn't seen her in approximately a year, except for a chance encounter about a week before her death. It's unclear why custody was given to the father despite his violent criminal history, including a rape charge from 2020 that lead to a plea deal.
On May 11, eight days before Zara was found dead, her mother saw the little girl and Arnold at a Wendy's on North Shadeland Avenue. The girl tried to run to her mother, but Zara's father grabbed her by the neck and took off. The mother called police.
The officer who responded to that call tried to locate Zara and her father "with no success, including attempting to locate them at (Arnold's) residence on LaSalle," according to court documents. Video surveillance from the fast food restaurant showed Arnold grabbing the little girl by her neck and putting her in a Cadillac Escalade "in an aggressive quick manner" before driving off. It's unclear when police received this surveillance footage or if any further action was taken.
On May 12, the day after the failed welfare check, Zara's father appeared in court. He pleaded guilty to one felony count of invasion of privacy after showing up at a custody exchange between his girlfriend and her ex-husband, who had a protective order against him.
He was sentenced to 360 days in jail with all 360 days suspended.
Criminal records. DCS involvement. Other signs 7-year-old boy was in danger
Alone, frostbitten and bruised: the tragic death of an Indianapolis 2-year-old
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