SAN FRANCISCO -- The father of a 5-month-old girl found dead in McLaren Park last week pleaded not guilty Thursday to involuntary manslaughter and child abuse.

Police originally reported that Anthony Demone Theard, 24, was only a person of interest in the case, but homicide charges were eventually brought against him and, on Thursday, Theard appeared in court.

Theard's charges also include an enhancement of inflicting corporal injury on a child resulting in death, according to district attorney's office spokeswoman Debbie Mesloh.

In addition to his plea, Theard and his counselor, Deputy Public Defender Sandy Feingold, entered a no-time waiver meaning he is exercising his right to a preliminary hearing within 10 days.

Authorities have been holding Theard in San Francisco County Jail on a parole violation since the week he reported his daughter Camille Ferguson missing. He is still being held on no-bail status, and he is expected to be back in court some time next week.

Theard had originally told police he left the girl in his car on Aug. 27 as he ran into a liquor store near 18th and Mission streets in San Francisco. He said that he didn't realize the baby was gone until after he returned and drove away.

Three days later, investigators received a tip and waded into the thick brush of McLaren Park to find Camille's body.

But Theard is now telling a new story, according to Mesloh. He apparently told investigators that he had agreed to watch Camille while her mother was at work. Camille had a cold, and Theard said he put her to sleep on her belly so she could breathe easier, but when he checked on her later, she was dead.

The San Francisco medical examiner's office recently completed a preliminary examination of Camille's body and determined she died of unnatural causes, but the exact cause of death is still unknown.

According to the office's spokesman Steve Gelman, toxicology results and a final report could still take weeks to complete.