A Hoover teen has been indicted on murder in the September death of his girlfriend's toddler daughter.

A Jefferson County grand jury issued the two-count indictment against 19-year-old Dlonata Khalil Melton on Jan. 12, according to court records made public Tuesday. He is indicted on charges of murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of 2-year-old Levi Ellise Pointer.

Levi died on Sept. 21 at the family's apartment at The Retreat at Rocky Ridge. Hoover police responded at 3:49 p.m. that afternoon to a 911 call, said Capt. Gregg Rector. The call was placed by Melton, describing an unknown medical issue involving Levi.

Firefighters arrived on the scene within four minutes, and found Levi in severe distress, Rector said. Hoover police detectives immediately responded to the hospital and launched their investigation. Melton, who was the sole caregiver of Levi that day, could not provide any explanation as to what may have caused the child to be in distress.

She was rushed to Children's of Alabama where she was pronounced dead six hours later, at 9:45 p.m. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office, Rector said, determined that Levi suffered a significant skull fracture.

According to the murder indictment, Melton caused the death of Levi by blunt force injury to the head and then withholding medical care. On the aggravated child abuse charge, the indictment says Melton "did willfully torture, willfully abuse, cruelly beat" Levi with blunt force injury to the head.

"From the very beginning we were determined to find the truth for Levi and her mother,'' said Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said at the time of Melton's initial arrest. "We also wanted to make certain that we got this case right because we have a victim who can no longer speak for herself."

"This child will never get the opportunity to grow up,'' the chief said, "and we have an obligation to her family to do everything we can to give them some small measure of justice and closure."

A trial date has not yet been set.