A Tennessee man with a history of child abuse and neglect convictions is now charged with murder after his girlfriend’s 4-month-old daughter died from injuries doctors say were consistent with violent shaking and abuse.
Bobby Randall Conner Jr., 32, had already served time for child neglect and child abuse before he was accused of fatally injuring Nevaeh Petty, according to authorities. He was initially booked on a charge of aggravated child abuse, but prosecutors upgraded that to murder once Nevaeh was declared brain-dead after several days on life support at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
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Metro Nashville Police said officers were called to a home on 24th Avenue North just before 5 p.m. on Sept. 19 after someone reported an infant in distress. When first responders arrived, they found Nevaeh unresponsive and rushed her to Vanderbilt in what police described as very critical condition.
Doctors found serious internal head trauma, including retinal hemorrhaging — injuries police say pointed clearly to abuse. Conner told investigators he had been lying in bed with the baby while her mother, Jessica Petty, was at work. He said he got up to use the bathroom and found her unresponsive when he came back.
Nevaeh spent four days on life support before she was declared brain-dead this past Wednesday.
Speaking to Nashville’s WSMV, Nevaeh’s father, Edward Wagner, said he believed Conner was responsible. “Based on the results, he shook my daughter,” Wagner said.
Wagner told the station he was aware of Conner’s criminal past and had warned Petty against letting him watch the baby. He said he also brought his concerns directly to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
“I told Jessica [Petty], who is the mother, it was not a good idea for him to be around my daughter,” Wagner said.
According to Wagner, DCS did follow up on his concerns and sent someone to check on Nevaeh, who was found unharmed at the time. He said a caseworker identified only as Miss Jenae told him Conner wasn’t a registered sex offender and therefore posed no barrier to being near the child.
Petty offered a similar account to WTVF, saying she only left Nevaeh in Conner’s care because the agency had signed off on it. “I didn’t do anything to my daughter,” she said. “I was okayed by DCS to leave her with him. And if anything DCS should answer why they allowed him to be around my kid.” When asked whether she thought leaving the baby with Conner, given his record, carried any risk, Petty declined to answer, saying only, “No comment.”
Court and police records show Conner was convicted of child abuse in August 2020 and served four years. He was convicted again, this time for child neglect tied to a March 2025 arrest, and received a one-year sentence before his release in August 2026, according to Metro Nashville Police.
Conner is currently held at the Downtown Detention Center on $500,000 bond. Jail records indicate he is not eligible for release at this time.
