A Virginia mother who pleaded guilty to charges related to the death of a 9-day-old infant told arresting officers that her child’s burns and broken bones were “not all that serious,” according to reports.
Z’ibreyea Parker, 22, pleaded guilty to child abuse and neglect charges, while her husband, Hilary Johnson II, 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, WTKR-3 reported.
According to the station, the couple took the child to the hospital on May 4 after she became unresponsive.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Norfolk ruled the baby’s death a homicide, citing signs of abuse.
According to arrest warrants obtained by WTKR-3, the baby sustained “severe burns on both feet as well as splash burns on other areas of her body.” The child also had bruises on her head, broken ribs, a broken clavicle, and signs of shaken baby syndrome.
According to the station, the couple was living in a tent near I-264 and Campostella and tried home remedies to treat their injuries. Parker informed officers that she “did not think the injuries were all that serious.”
Hilary Johnson Sr., the child’s grandfather, told WAVY-10 that he had informed hospital staff that the couple was unable to care for the girl when the baby was born.
“I told them I feared for her life,” Johnson Sr. told the station. “Not only me, but my father also said the same thing. So how come you still let that baby leave? “She was never supposed to leave the hospital.”
He informed the station that the homeless couple had struggled with mental health issues.
“They were bright kids, and I don’t know what in the world got into them to live the way they did,” Johnson Sr. told the station. “I do not know.
I prayed to myself before she [the baby] came here, saying, “Lord, please allow her maternal instincts to kick in, that she wants to protect that baby, that she does not want to live the way she was living, that she wants more for herself and her child.”
