Baltimore man not guilty of murder in death of 5-month-old daughter, guilty on child abuse charge

BALTIMORE -- A jury on Monday found a Baltimore man charged in the 2018 death of his five-month-old daughter not guilty of murder, but guilty on child abuse-related charges.

Anthony Ford was found guilty of first-degree child abuse and assault. He was found not guilty of second-degree murder.

Brailynn Ford's grandmother, Hazel Wilson, testified during the trial. She told WJZ that her family now has closure.

"The state's attorney did her job. We got justice and we are very, very excited," said Wilson. "We don't feel like he did anything intentionally. We just felt like he was frustrated. She wasn't cooperating because she's a baby. He was frustrated and he just kind of let his anger to get the best of him. The fact that he doesn't really believe that he did anything wrong says a lot. Because he doesn't even feel like he did it. So that just lets us know that it was definitely not intentional."

Brailynn Ford died in October 2018 just days after she was hospitalized with trauma to her body. Ford was arrested shortly after and has remained in custody since then. 

Ford had been charged with second-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, child abuse resulting in serious physical injury and first-degree assault.

Prosecutors said Brailynn was fine when she was dropped at her father's in the morning, but by the afternoon she had "traumatic injuries."

Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Zabiullah Ali testified that Brailynn had bruising all over her body, injuries he said were consistent with blunt force trauma. Ali showed photos of what appeared to be cuts on the baby's body.

An expert for the defense argued Brailynn had pneumonia and blood conditions that could've explained the bruises on her body, and said she had existing medical conditions that could have caused low oxygen levels that affected her brain.

Anthony Ford testified that he did not kill his baby.

Ford testified last Wednesday he was taking care of his daughter on the day in question and went for a ride in a vehicle where others were present. Following the ride, Brailynn was no longer "normal" and seemed "irritated." He said Brailynn stopped breathing and "blood was coming out of her nose," and he called 911.   

"We believe Anthony Ford did not do this to his child. We stand by him and I stand by him," said Tony Garcia, Ford's defense attorney.

Garcia said his client was "numb" when the verdict came in.

"He's stunned," Garcia said. "It's impossible for me to put in words what it feels like to be found that you have harmed or basically caused the death of your own baby child. I don't think there's an adjective that's really - will be fair. All I can say is that he's crushed."

Garcia also expressed concern that the assistant medical examiner was biased and drew a premature conclusion on the baby's cause of death before reviewing all of her medical records.

Garcia said his team will most likely have an appeal.

Ford's sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 11.