The St. Louis state appeals court is considering a man’s claim that he was trying to save the life of his girlfriend’s three-year old daughter, not kill her when the girl died.

Quintin Gray Senior blames bad instructions from a 911 dispatcher caused the death — that the dispatcher told him to use the palms of his hands to push on her chest when he should have been told to use his fingers.

Investigators say the girl’s injuries point toward blunt force trauma, not any attempt at CPR.

Gray is serving a 25-year prison for second-degree murder.