A father beat his 18-month-old daughter to death while high on drugs before putting her body in a bag and giving it to a friend to dump, police say.

Travis Rodrigues, 40, has appeared in court for the first time yesterday charged with the second-degree murder of his toddler daughter, Kytana Ancog.

According to court documents, Rodrigues has confessed to hitting his daughter in her in the face and shaking her before ‘squeezing her against his chest’. She became unconscious and appeared lifeless, Honolulu Police added.

Rodrigues, from Honolulu, Hawaii, was arrested by police on Saturday following the disappearance of his daughter – who was last seen alive by her mother two weeks ago.

It’s then claimed that Rodrigues made arrangements ‘to dispose the body’. The court papers state he allegedly wrapped Ancog in a bed sheet and placed her body in a duffel bag.

Rodrigues is then alleged to have met an acquaintance, identified as Scott Michael Carter, and shared a car journey with him.

Police say that Carter, 48, dropped him off at another acquaintance’s home while the duffel bag was left in the vehicle. Carter allegedly told Rodrigues, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it’, the documents said.

Rodrigues told police he does not know Ancog’s current whereabouts and her body has still not been recovered, reports the Honolulu Star and Advertiser.

Authorities also arrested Carter on Saturday night when they arrested Rodrigues. Carter is charged with first-degree hindering prosecution and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

The court documents say a witness told police Rodrigues slapped and kicked Ancog and tried to give her a methamphetamine pipe.

The witness also observed bruising to different parts of Ancog’s body and bruising and blood near her mouth. Rodrigues allegedly told the individual that the blood was chocolate and that Ancog had fallen in the shower.

Rodrigues has previously served time in federal prison for felony drug and weapon convictions.

His criminal history also includes three misdemeanor convictions for theft and terroristic threatening, according to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center.

In a staement, Ancog’s mother, Ashley Ancog, and grandmother Lisa Mora have said: ‘At this time our family would like to say thank you for all the prayers and kind words of encouragement that have been extended to us in this very trying and heartbreaking time.

‘We are devastated to hear the details of what happened to Kytana on February 4th.

‘If anyone knows where Kytana is please come forward so that we may bring her home and lay our sweet baby girl to rest.’

According to Hawaii state law, Rodrigues would be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole if convicted of second-degree murder. He could lose the possibility of parole if he is convicted and a court finds the murder ‘especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel’.

Rodrigues is being held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center and has bail set at $2 million.

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