Defendant Accused of 17-Month Old’s Murder Scheduled for Retrial

By LaTrina Antoine - May 13, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Juveniles | Suspects | Victims |

A homicide defendant charged with killing a 17-month old baby was scheduled for a retrial on May 13.

Francois Brown is charged with second-degree murder, first and second-degree child abuse, first and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment for his involvement in the death of his girlfriend’s 17-month-old son, Zaray Gray on July 18, 2018.

Before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Copeland scheduled the retrial. Brown, 41, rejected a plea offer from the prosecution for life suspending all but 50 years in prison with five years of probation.

The trial is set for Aug. 1, and it is expected to last for 5 days.

Baltimore Witness reported that an unreported opinion from the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, said Brown was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse resulting in death in August 2019 and was sentenced to life plus 45 years three months later. 

A motion for a new trial was filed in January 2021, alleging that Judge Charles J. Peters “erroneously admitted” evidence at trial consisting of information regarding Brown’s prior conviction for the death of his seven-month-old son, Kendall Brown.

Brown accepted a Alford plea for Kendall’s death in 2014 to avoid harsher punishment and was sentenced to 15 years. The defendant’s conviction for Zaray’s death was overturned in February.

The opinion states that Brown was watching Zaray and his two siblings on the day of the incident while their mother ran errands. Brown took the children to a playground where Zaray allegedly fell off of a slide and bumped his head after landing on his back.

Zaray’s brother later testified that he saw Brown “yanking” on Zaray’s arm as the infant was crying. Zaray had also thrown up multiple times when they returned home. according to the account. That evening, Zaray’s mother went to change his diaper and saw he wasn’t breathing.

Medical examiners found signs of blunt force trauma to Zaray’s head and torso during the investigation.