A 2018 infanticide case is set to be retried in August after an April trial deadlocked in a hung jury, according to a representative from the State’s Attorney’s Office.
On April 21, following several days of proceedings before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry G. Williams, jurors found themselves at a standstill while deliberating 29-year-old defendant Anthony Ford’s four charges. Ford will remain incarcerated until his retrial, which is set to begin Aug. 24 before Judge Anthony G. Vittoria.
Ford’s charges—which include murder, assault, and two counts of child abuse—stem from the morning of Oct. 8, 2018. Around 3 p.m. that afternoon, police responded to calls for an unresponsive infant at a residence on the 1000 block of Mosher Street, where they found Ford’s five-month old daughter, Brailynn Ford, unresponsive and nonbreathing. Closer examination revealed she had injuries consistent with shaken baby syndrome, including hemorrhaging around her eyes and brain swelling.
Witnesses at trial included Brailynn’s grandmother and a family friend, who described the girl as “a happy, active baby with no medical issues.” According to the family friend, Anthony often demonstrated a “caring and loving” attitude toward his daughter.
The family friend also testified that Brailynn had appeared normal that morning, and that she’d driven her, the defendant and another passenger to meet with Brailynn’s mother that same morning. She claimed everything went wrong when she dropped Anthony and Brailynn off at their Mosher Street residence. According to her testimony, shortly after the pair entered the home, Anthony came rushing back out holding his daughter. Emergency services were notified shortly after, she said.
Brailynn’s mother, who passed away last September due to an asthma attack, was notified of her daughter’s condition after the infant was rushed to the emergency room.
Defense attorney Marci T. Johnson represented Ford at trial.
