Baltimore Parents Plead Guilty To Starving 5-Year-Old Daughter To Death

BALTIMORE, MD — A Baltimore couple has pleaded guilty to starving their two young children, causing one to later die of malnutrition, prosecutors announced on Thursday.

Bernice Byrd and Gerald Byrd each pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse resulting in death and first-degree child abuse for their role in starving their daughter, 5-year-old Zona Byrd, and her 6-year-old brother, Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates said in a statement. Zona died due to malnutrition, and her brother was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital and recovered.

“No punishment will be as severe for these defendants as living with the knowledge that they murdered their innocent child," Bates said. "As a father, the facts of this case are nauseating, and my heart continues to ache for Zona, who is gone from us far too soon."

On Oct. 14, 2024, Baltimore police were called to a residence on the 2200 block of Aiken Street for a report of a 5-year-old victim who was unresponsive. The caller said they found Zona lying in a bed on the second floor of the home, and she was unresponsive and cold to the touch. She was later pronounced dead by medics.

Three other children were in the home at the time and were all taken to Johns Hopkins Medical Center for evaluation. One of those children was a 6-year-old boy, Zona's brother, who appeared emaciated and could barely stand or walk when he was found.

When Zona was found, prosecutors said her body appeared severely emaciated and extremely malnourished. The clothes she was wearing were much too large for her, and detectives later reported that she had no muscle tone.

During an autopsy, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed Zona weighed only 17.5 pounds when she died. No evidence of physical trauma that could have resulted in her death was found during their examination.

Zona's brother was admitted and treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Weighing only 35 pounds, the child remained at Johns Hopkins Hospital for nearly two weeks.

When detectives questioned both Bernice Byrd and Gerald Byrd about the last time Zona was provided food and nourishment, neither would take responsibility for feeding the child, nor could they account for when they last fed Zona. Detectives later discovered that one of the surviving children was seen going through garbage at their school in an attempt to find food.

During the investigation, authorities found that all the kitchen cupboards in the Byrd home were completely bare of any food. The freezer was packed with frozen meat, but the only item in the refrigerator was a salad.

A check of the second floor showed that Bernice Byrd and Gerald Byrd had locked their bedroom door and their bedroom closet. When detectives gained access to those areas, they discovered that several non-perishable food items were locked in the closet, out of the children’s reach.

Bernice Byrd and Gerald Byrd face a maximum penalty of life in prison at their sentencing on June 10.