On Nov 12, Gerald Sr. Byrd, 36, and Bernice Byrd, 33, were sentenced for felony child abuse and neglect that led to the death of their five-year-old daughter, Zona Byrd, and the starvation of their son, who survived.
An autopsy revealed Zona weighed 17.5 pounds at the time of her death.
According to prosecutors the only thing in her stomach was about a teaspoon of liquid, stating that this was not “something that was sudden.” On Oct 14, 2024, Baltimore City Police (BPD) responding to the Byrd residence on the 2200 Block of Aiken Street found Zona lying on a bed on the second floor- unresponsive, emaciated and “ice cold” to the touch.
The prosecutors argued for the maximum possible sentence which was life, arguing “we can only imagine the distress the babies expressed.”
The couple was sentenced by Judge Dana Middleton in Baltimore City Circuit Court to life, suspend all but 60 years for child abuse resulting in the death of a child under the age of 13, along with 16 years concurrent for child abuse resulting in severe injury. They were both recommended to be sent to the Patuxent Institute, the maximum security psychiatric correctional facility. They were denied having any future contact with their surviving children, who live with an aunt.
The defendants had agreed to separate plea deals in order to prevent traumatizing the children any further, according to attorneys representing the parents.
According to prosecutors the parents had food locked up in a closet that the children could not access without permission. The children would “get in trouble” for “stealing” food. They were kept in “torturous” conditions, locked in a room without access to the bathroom, food, or anything to play with. The prosecutor pointed out that the defendant had a dog that they kept fed, “He fed his dog regularly, but not his daughter.”
They state that the parents claimed the “children must have eaten all the food without them noticing,” when they were asked about the empty fridge. They also claimed they had “rat issues,” with the mother claiming the children played in the trash to “feed the mice.”
Prosecutors claim that the parents failed to exhibit remorse, with state psychiatrists diagnosing the mother with anti-social personality disorder, who also had multiple incidents while in lockup.
Both defense counsel Phillip Levin, representing the mother and Deborah Katz Levi, representing the father, agreed with the severity and heinous nature of the crimes committed.
In their arguments they said the parents understood the severity of their actions, as they had accepted plea deals, and asked for a slightly lighter sentence – Life suspend all but 50 – along with placement at the Patuxent Institution.
Both defendants had statements read by their defense counsel, with the mother writing her own. Her lawyer stated that she wrote “I feel responsible, but I’m at a loss,” and reiterated her desire for medication and psychiatric help, writing “I want help, and I don’t want to hurt anyone else for the rest of my life.”
In her deliberations, Judge Middleton stated the case was “by far one of the most disturbing cases I’ve seen, and perhaps will ever see, because it deals with children.” She argued that the parents kept the children in “a cage disguised as a room,” and questioned “if there was even an amount of time that is enough,” for the severity of the crimes.
In a statement released shortly after the ruling, State’s Attorney Ivan Bates,said of the ruling “No punishment that our office can request will atone for starving a child to death. The sentence of Life, suspending all but 60 years, will likely keep these defendants incarcerated for the remainder of their lives”
We accepted this plea knowing Mr. and Mrs. Byrd will never return to society as a public safety threat, while also sparing their surviving children the unimaginable burden of testifying against their parents and being re-traumatized by reliving the horrific abuse at trial.”
