An Austin High School graduate is facing a homicide charge in Montana for allegedly pushing a 3-year-old girl into a wall last week — an incident that ultimately led to her death Monday.

The Great Falls Tribune in Great Falls, Mont., reported that Jerimie Hicks, 22, a 2006 AHS graduate, was charged with attempted deliberate homicide Monday in district court.

Hicks, who was born in Great Falls, is currently an active duty member of the Air Force. He was taking care of his girlfriend’s daughter, Kaelyn Bray, according to the article.

Initially, Hicks told police and hospital workers that a puppy knocked Kaelyn down one flight of stairs onto a landing, the Tribune reported. The child then turned 180 degrees and tumbled down a second flight, he said.

Hicks went on to say he found the puppy on top of Kaelyn and threw the dog against the wall, damaging the sheetrock, the Tribune reported.

Police, however, found the dog to be fine.

Hicks later changed his story to say he was frustrated with the fussing child after feeding her, according to the Tribune. Court documents accuse Hicks of saying he closed his eyes and forcibly shoved the child away from him, leaving the mark in the sheetrock.

The county attorney in Great Falls said the evidence indicates Hicks spent a “substantial amount of time trying to mask his account rather than call for medical help,” the newspaper reported.

Hicks is scheduled to enter a plea at a later court appearance. If convicted, he would face between 10 years and life in prison.