Parents Sentenced After Claiming 9-Day-Old Baby Died From Stroller Fall

A Virginia couple has been sentenced to prison in connection with the death of their 9-day-old daughter, per PEOPLE.

According to the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Hilary Darnell Johnson II, 24, and Z'Ibreyea Shantel Parker, 22, brought their newborn, Iijayah, to the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters on May 4, 2024. Staff found the infant “cold to the touch,” and she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The parents told hospital workers that the baby had fallen from her stroller two days earlier while Johnson was jogging and that they had treated her at home with witch hazel and gauze. They sought medical help only after noticing she had trouble breathing and was eating less.

Medical staff, however, reported visible signs of abuse, including burns on the baby’s feet, cuts on her head and face, and bruises on her back. An autopsy determined her death resulted from blunt-force trauma inconsistent with a stroller fall.

Although investigators couldn't determine which parent inflicted the injuries, prosecutors said the evidence “pointed more strongly to Mr. Johnson.”

Johnson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in August and was sentenced last month to 19 years in prison. Parker pleaded guilty to felony child abuse and was handed down a 10-year sentence.

Judge Jennifer L. Fuschetti noted during sentencing that the infant was malnourished and that neither parent provided an explanation for her injuries.

“There is no victim more vulnerable than a newborn baby,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said. “Iijayah came into the world in need of love and protection from her mother and father. What she got instead was suffering and death.”

Fatehi added that prosecutors accepted plea deals due to the difficulty of proving which parent caused the fatal injuries, but said the convictions “honor the memory of innocent victims like Iijayah who cannot speak for themselves.”

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