A Lawrence man has been arrested on murder charges in connection with the death of his infant daughter.

Jay Daniel Decker, whose age was not provided, is being held in Douglas County Jail for first-degree murder and abuse of a child in connection with the death of 5-month-old Risha J. Lafferty, according to a statement released today by Lawrence Police Capt. Dan Affalter.

Affalter said Lawrence police and ambulance personnel were dispatched at 8:20 a.m. Friday on a medical call about a child not breathing at an apartment at Edgewood Homes, 1600 Haskell.

When emergency personnel arrived, they found the 5-month-old infant not breathing and without a pulse, Affalter said They couldn’t resuscitate her and declared her dead at the scene, Affalter said.

During an investigation to determine the cause of the death, the infant was found to have injuries inconsistent with the explanation of her father, who was caring for her and for her 2-year-old sister at the time of the death, Affalter said.

An autopsy, which was performed by Dr. Eric Mitchell of Frontier Forensics, showed that the girl died as the result of injuries sustained from physical abuse, Affalter said.

The case was classified as a homicide and Decker was then arrested and booked into the Douglas County Jail, Affalter said.

He said no other information will be provided by investigators until 10:30 a.m. Monday.