By Justin Averette

An autopsy performed Sunday, Dec. 27 will determine whether charges will be filed in relation to the death of a 6-month-old girl.
The girl died Saturday, Dec. 26 at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. The Alabama Department of Forensic Science conducted the autopsy, the results of which will be shared with the Chilton County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Kevin Davis said it could take weeks for a final autopsy report to be delivered.
Patrick Stephen Compton, a boyfriend of the child’s mother, was arrested Dec. 15 on felony aggravated child abuse charges in North Chilton County, according to Davis. Compton posted a $50,000 bond and was released from the Chilton County Jail on Dec. 17.
The child abuse charges stem from injuries that resulted in the child being brought to Children’s Hospital, where she had been the past two weeks, Davis said.
The sheriff said this week has been a hard one for Chilton County residents and law  officers.
On Sunday, Dec. 27 an 18-year-old Marbury man was killed in Verbena. Steven Dorough was shot in the head with a shotgun and then set on fire. Two men were arrested the same day and charged with murder.
“It’s been a sad, tough week for our community and our county and especially the officers working these cases,” said Davis.