Virginia – A Virginia couple was sentenced following the death of their several day old chiId. The victim’s dad, 24-year-old HiIary, received a nineteen year prison term after pleading guilty to second‑degree murder. The Commonwealth agreed to dismiss the child‑abuse charge against him. The victim’s mom, 22-year-old Z’lbreyea, pleaded guilty to feIony chiId abuse resulting in serious injury; the murder charge against her was dropped by prosecutors due to insufficient evidence. She was sentenced to ten years in prison.
The child’s dad (SEE PHOTO), pleaded guilty in August 2025 to second‑degree murder, and as part of his plea agreement the child abuse charge against him was dismissed. The victim’s mom agreed in August 2025 to plead guilty to felony child abuse resulting in serious injury; the murder charge against her was dropped by the prosecution due to insufficient evidence to support it. At the woman’s sentencing hearing the prosecution asked for a three‑year prison term, but the judge instead imposed the maximum allowable ten‑year sentence under Virginia law for the felony. The father’s plea agreement allowed for a sentence up to 19 years; the judge imposed that full term, and also suspended an additional 21 years contingent on probation, good behavior and no unsupervised contact with minors for five years after release.
The investigation began in May last year when officers from the local police department responded to a child protection call after the baby was brought unresponsive to the Children’s Hospital. According to hospital staff, the victim’s parents arrived around 12:30 p.m. that day and reported that she had fallen from a stroIIer while the father was runnin two days earlier. They said they attempted to treat the injury themselves with witch hazel, peroxide and gauze, and only sought hospital care when the child’s appetite decreased and she stopped breathing. The parents had been living in a tent under a highway bridge, were unable to provide a precise birthdate for the child, and reportedly Iaughed while checking in at the hospital, according to court documents.
When officers arrived and investigated they found evidence of abuse inconsistent with the parents’ account. The hospital observed burns on the bottoms of the baby’s feet, two cuts on her head and face, bruises on her back, broken ribs, and other internal and external injuries. The autopsy found the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and torso, and deep partial‑thickness burns to the feet consistent with hot Iiquid, none of which could be explained by a stroIIer faII. Investigators could not determine which parent inflicted the injuries, though evidence weighed more heavily against the father, prosecutors said.
Throughout the investigation the parents denied causing the injuries. They told officers they treated the baby at home and delayed seeking professional medical help. The father claimed the stroIIer incident, and both said they believed the injuries would heal without hospital care. But the medical findings and their inconsistent statements prompted the homicide investigation. The prosecution’s statement at sentencing underscored that the newborn was among the most vulnerable victims, entering the world needing protection and receiving instead suffering and death.
