Roman Rey Brand, 23, admitted during an exclusive jailhouse interview to hitting his girlfriend's baby, Ayonna Thompson, because she would not stop crying.

The incident happened Wednesday morning at a house on the 4700 block of Country Place Lane.

Brand said Wednesday night from jail that he had not had a good night's sleep and was trying to get some rest. The baby was fidgety and kept crying, so, out of frustration, he said he started hitting the baby on her head.

Watch a segment of the raw interview

Brand said he and his girlfriend live in Ridgecrest and were visiting his mother in Bakersfield.

The infant was then taken to Mercy Southwest, where she died soon after. An autopsy determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma, and her death was ruled a homicide. Brand was arrested that afternoon.

He said he regrets what happened.

Kern County Superior Court records show a criminal history for Brand that includes misdemeanor convictions for drugs and spousal abuse.

Brand is currently being held on $1 million bail.