Father charged with poisoning ill 7-year-old daughter with drain cleaner pleads not guilty

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – A Massachusetts man has pleaded not guilty to trying to kill his sick 7-year-old daughter by poisoning her with drain cleaner.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette (http://bit.ly/1Hm90Sz ) reports that 32-year-old Christopher Conley, of Northampton, was held without bail on Thursday on charges including attempted murder.

The girl underwent a seven-hour surgery April 17 to remove two-thirds of her small intestine and part of her bladder.

Surgeons said there is "no good explanation" for the death of her bowel tissue, but said they suspected that someone injected a corrosive fluid into her cecostomy tube.

Authorities say Conley told investigators he used Liquid-Plumr and a prescription painkiller overdose because he wanted to end his seriously ill daughter's pain.

A call before normal business hours to Conley's attorney was not immediately returned Friday.

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Information from: Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, Mass.), http://www.gazettenet.com