Woman Accused of Killing Child in 2022 Rejects Plea Offer

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On Sept. 20, a Baltimore County woman accused of killing a one-year-old child rejected a plea offer before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn.

The prosecutor offered Aurielle Angelique Montgomery a sentence of life, suspending all but 25 years, with three years of supervised probation for first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of a child under 13. Montgomery’s attorney, Alex Leikus, declined on his client’s behalf.

Judge Phinn then scheduled Montgomery’s trial for Jan. 26, 2024, before Judge Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill. The trial is expected to last four days.

Montgomery is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of a child under 13 years of age, first-degree child abuse resulting in severe physical injury and second-degree child abuse by a custodian in connection to the Oct. 4, 2022, incident.

According to a Baltimore Police Department (BPD) press release, officers responded to the 2700 block of Ellicott Driveway for a reported unresponsive baby. Despite attempts to render aid, medics pronounced the victim dead on the scene. Medical examiners later ruled Nyemia Gilliard’s death as a homicide caused by trauma.