Parents Get Prison Time for Infant Daughter's Death

QUINCY, MA — A day after the father of a baby who died from opiate poisoning was sentenced to serve time in a state prison, the mother of the five-month-old has also been sentenced to prison time.

Ashley Cry, 29, formerly of Quincy, pleaded guilty Thursday in Plymouth Superior Court to manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child. She will serve six to eight years in a state prison, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney's office. The Commonwealth requested 10-12 years.

On Tuesday, the baby's father, Ryan Barry, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 18-20 years in a state prison.

On Sept. 23, 2011, police in Marshfield received a 911 call for an unresponsive child inside an apartment on Castle Green. Police found five-month-old Mya Barry on the living room floor and a neighbor attempting CPR on her, the DA's office said. The victim, who was cold and not breathing, was transported to South Shore Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Police at the apartment found three grams of heroin and hypodermic needles on a shelf in the room shared by the infant and her parents.

"Baby Mya never stood a chance in life and this outcome is about justice for that little girl,” District Attorney Tim Cruz said in a release. “Her parents have pleaded guilty to directly contributing to her death and now have the next several years to think about Mya and how things could have turned out differently for themselves and their young family.”

In Dec. 2012, the state's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the infant died from opiate poisoning and the death was ruled a homicide. A bottle used to feed the victim tested positive for morphine and a metabolite of heroin known as 6-acetylmorphine. The two were indicted in Oct. 2013.

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