A Virginia mom who pleaded guilty Aug. 22 to charges related to the death of a 9-day old infant told arresting officers that the burns and broken bones her child sustained were "not all that serious," according to reports.
Z'ibreyea Parker, 22, pled guilty to child abuse and neglect charges and her husband, 24-year-old Hilary Johnson II plead guilty to second-degree murder, WTKR-3 reported. The station reported that the couple brought the child to a hospital after finding her unresponsive on May 4.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Norfolk ruled the baby's death a homicide, stating that there were signs of abuse.
According to arrest warrants cited by WTKR-3, the baby's injuries included "severe burns on both feet as well as splash burns on other areas of her body." The child also had bruises on her head and broken ribs, a broken clavicle, and exhibited symptoms of shaken baby syndrome.
The station reported that the couple was living in a tent near I-264 and Campostella and had attempted to treat the injuries with home remedies. Parker told officers that she "did not think the injuries were all that serious."
The child's grandfather, Hilary Johnson Sr., told WAVY-10 that he had warned hospital staff that the couple was not capable of caring for the girl when then baby was born.
"I told them I fear for her life," Johnson Sr. told the station. "Not only me, but my dad even said the same thing. So how is it that you still let that baby leave? She was never supposed to leave that hospital."
He told the station that the homeless couple had struggled with mental health issues.
"They was bright kids that I don't know what in the world snapped into them to live the way they were living," Johnson Sr. told the station. "I don't know. I prayed to myself before she [the baby] came here and I said, 'Lord, please let her maternal instincts kick in that she wants to protect that baby, that she don't want to live the way she was living, that she wants more for her and her child."
