Parents arrested for child abuse after 5-year-old dies in East Baltimore

BALTIMORE - The parents of a 5-year-old girl who died in East Baltimore Monday afternoon have been arrested and charged with child abuse and neglect, according to police.

Officers were called around 12:40 p.m. to the 2200 block of Aiken Street where the child was found with signs of trauma. She died a short time later. Homicide detectives are investigating.   

Bernice Betty Byrd, 32, and Gerald Byrd, 34, have been charged with first-and second-degree child abuse and neglect of a child resulting in death.  

A next-door neighbor, who did not want to be identified, reported seeing multiple young children living inside the home at the center of the scene.

"I am grieving for the family," the neighbor said. "I was shocked, I was shocked, and displaced. I really didn't expect this to be coming from next door."

The medical examiner will determine the child's cause and manner of death through an autopsy.

Three other children were in the home and were removed by Child Protective Services, police said. One child was taken to a hospital and the other two were placed in the care of relatives.