GREENSBURG, Pa. -- Jurors on Wednesday acquitted a Lower Burrell man accused of shaking his 5-month-old daughter to death at their apartment.

James McIntyre was found not guilty of third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Airiana McIntyre, who was found unconscious in her room on April 8, 2003.

During closing arguments, defense attorney Tom Ceraso said "someone killed Airiana, but her father is not that person," and he said the case "is based on an assumption" of what happened at the apartment McIntyre shared with the baby's mother, Amanda Barch.

Ceraso said Barch, who is not charged, admitted checking on Airiana and gently touching the baby's head and forehead, but noticed nothing wrong with her. During the trial, doctors testified that symptoms arise quickly after a baby is shaken.

Barch also told a doctor that she had changed Airiana's diaper an hour before McIntyre found the baby barely breathing, making her the last person to be alone with Airiana, according to Ceraso. The attorney suggested that Barch may be the one who really shook the baby.

Prosecutor Larry Koenig called Ceraso's theory "preposterous" and said it was an insult to the jury's intelligence and common sense.

Though Barch did look in on her daughter, Koenig pointed out that it was a brief check because McIntyre tried to keep Barch from going into the baby's room.

Video: Father Testifies (Oct. 12)