HAMMOND | A Robertsdale man was charged with murder Thursday afternoon in the death of his girlfriend's infant daughter from what doctors called an extreme amount of physical abuse.

Jose Antonio Mendoza, 28, of the 1200 block of Lakeview Street, is being held without bond in the Lake County Jail and faces 65 years in prison if convicted on counts of murder and felony neglect of a dependent.

Seventeen-month-old Savannah Fullgraf died late Saturday at the University of Chicago Hospitals from multiple injuries due to child abuse, the Cook County medical examiner's office ruled.

Savannah's 22-year-old mother called emergency responders to her apartment near George Lake shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday and told the dispatcher her child wasn't breathing.

A Fire Department ambulance rushed the child to St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Centers downtown, and after an examination she was airlifted to the Chicago hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Doctors in Hammond reported that they observed an extreme amount of physical abuse to the child's body, including severe bruising on her back, neck, face and legs.

Savannah also had severe burns on the palm and several fingers of her right hand, doctors said, and X-rays revealed that she had a broken nose and broken bones in both eye sockets, and evidence of other serious abuse.

Police said Mendoza waived his right to remain silent and admitted he was the sole baby sitter for Savannah because her mother, with whom he lived, worked a lot and he didn't have a job so he was available.

He told police he "grabbed her a little rough sometimes" when they were playing, and that Savannah had fallen in the bathtub Friday when he was giving her a bath.

Mendoza also said he would grab Savannah by the face and neck when she was crying and would not stop when he told her to, according to his statement to detectives.

He told detectives he had been raped by a baby sitter when he was 6 years old, was beaten as a child by his own father and sometimes "hears voices."

Family members said Monday night that Savannah's mother was "devastated" by the loss of her daughter, and that none of them had any idea of the extent of the child's injuries until the public release of the prosecutor's affidavit.

Someone broke into the Lakeview Street apartment Saturday night while Savannah and her mother were at the Chicago hospital, stealing a flat-screen television, DVD player, X-Box game system and cash, according to a police report.