Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Copeland presided over a hearing Dec. 15 involving two co-defendants charged with child abuse of their twin babies. According to the prosecution, the abuse led to the death of a five-month-old boy from a skull fracture that led to cardiac arrest. The boy’s twin sister survived.
The co-defendants are charged with child abuse with severe physical injury, second-degree child abuse, conspiracy to first and second-degree child abuse, first and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and neglect of minors. According to court documents, the incident occurred on the 2500 block of Edmondson Avenue on July 27. The boy died at Johns Hopkins Hospital on Aug. 7. Both parents are being held in jail.
According to court documents, the boy suffered from a fractured skull and X-rays of the girl’s body in July showed multiple fracture wounds to her ribs and femur. Maryland Judiciary shows the mother’s charges stem from incidents as far back as May.
“The injuries make a bold statement that the deceased victim and his surviving twin sister suffered injuries in the same area of their bodies,” an officer wrote in the police affidavit.
On Monday, the prosecution offered a deal requiring the defendants to plead guilty to second-degree child abuse and conspiracy to child abuse for an aggregate total of 80 years, suspending all but 50 years in prison.
The mother’s defense attorney, Robert Cohen, said this was the first time he or his client saw the offer. He said the defense sent emails, called, and requested hearings to no avail. He also said the issue of joining the cases was not addressed.
Counsel for the parents rejected the offer.
According to court documents, the mother told police that after feeding the twins and placing them on the carpet everyone fell asleep. She said she awoke to her daughter’s crying and discovered her son wasn’t breathing and had blue lips. The mother told the police she began CPR until the medics arrived.
The defense said the prosecution had no evidence to support their conspiracy allegation.
The prosecution said the defense received all the information they had, saying the prosecution was still waiting for the autopsy report, imaging, and records of physical therapy.
According to court documents, a motion to join the parent’s cases was filed by the State’s Attorney’s Office on Oct. 2.
According to the prosecution, the medical examiner assigned to the case, in August, ruled the incident as a homicide because of the boy’s skull fracture.
However, the prosecution has not been able to get the autopsy report because the examiner took some time away and only returned to the office last week.
Once the prosecution receives the autopsy report, they will plan on filing a superseding indictment for homicide, the lead prosecutor said.
The parties are set for a hearing to review the particulars of the case, which may include a motion to compel evidence from the prosecution, on Jan. 8, 2026 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Robert Taylor. Following the hearing, the parties are scheduled to go back in front of Judge Copeland on Jan. 9, 2026.
Editor’s note: According to Baltimore Witness policies, the defendant’s in this case have not been named because they have not been charged with homicide as of December 15, 2025.
