Baltimore parents sentenced to 60 years after 5-year-old daughter starved to death
The parents of a 5-year-old girl who died severely malnourished in East Baltimore in 2024 have been sentenced to spend 60 years in prison.
Bernice and Gerald Byrd were both charged with murder, among other charges, in the death of their daughter, Zona.
They pleaded guilty in February and were each sentenced on Thursday to life in prison with all but 60 years suspended.
"No punishment that our office can request will atone for starving a child to death. The sentence of Life, suspended all but 60 years, will likely keep these defendants incarcerated for the remainder of their lives. We accept this plea knowing Mr. and Mrs. Byrd will never return to society as a public safety threat, while also sparing their surviving children the unimaginable burden of testifying against their parents and being re-traumatized by reliving the horrific abuse at trial," Baltimore State's Attorney Ivan Bates said in a statement.
What happened to Zona Byrd?
Baltimore Police were called to a home on Aiken Street around 12:40 p.m. on Oct. 14, 2024 for a report of an unresponsive child.
According to court documents, Bernice Byrd had told her sister that she was concerned about Zona. When the girl's aunt arrived at the home, she confirmed Zona was in bed, ice cold and not moving. The aunt called 911, and the responding paramedics pronounced the child dead.
Court documents described Zona as being emaciated and extremely malnourished, with her ribs clearly visible. She weighed 17.5 pounds.
Prosecutors said her parents locked her in an upstairs bedroom while they kept a locked pantry full of food in their own room.
The parents told police they could not remember the last time Zona ate or what type of food she had last, according to the documents. They also could not say when was the last time they had seen her alive.
Three other children were removed from the home after Zona's death, including a 6-year-old boy who was so severely malnourished he weighed only 35 pounds, appeared gaunt and could barely walk, according to police.
History of child abuse
The case highlighted systemic failures within the Maryland Social Services Administration.
In 2019, both parents were previously charged with child abuse and assault after another daughter went to school with a black eye and told police that she had gotten into a fight with her parents, those charging documents said.
Gerald Byrd pleaded guilty to second degree assault and served time, while the case against Bernice Byrd was indefinitely postponed.
In wake of Zona's death, the executive director of the state's social services administration urged the public to report signs of abuse.
"It's extremely critical that if anyone suspects that a child is being abused or neglected to say something," Dr. Alger Studstill said in 2024.
Gerald Byrd's attorney said Thursday he suffers mental health problems, but he should be held accountable. The attorney said the state also failed in this case, returning Zona to her parents' custody after she had previously been taken away for being malnourished and making multiple visits to the home – including just months before her death – but not taking action.
"If anyone had done what they were supposed to do, in terms of all the state actors here, this easily could've been avoided. If anybody had stepped in, if DSS had checked on their school records, there's a 0% chance they would've closed the case in my opinion or should've closed the case. And if DSS had asked for any of the medical records, they would've seen that the children were not getting proper medical care," the attorney said. "What my client needed was help in his parenting. My client needed services. He has mental health issues. He's low functioning. He needed their help."
