Parents Sentenced After Claiming 9-Day-Old Baby Died from Stroller Fall: 'She Got Suffering and Death,' Prosecutor Says By Toria Sheffield

A Virginia couple has been sentenced following the 2024 death of their 9-day-old baby.

Hilary Darnell Johnson II, 24, and his wife, Z’Ibreyea Shantel Parker, 22, took their newborn daughter, Iijayah, to Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk on May 4, 2024, per a recent media release issued by the Office of the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney.

Upon arrival, hospital staff found Iijayah unresponsive and “cold to the touch,” and she was later pronounced dead, according to the release.

Johnson and Parker told hospital staff that the newborn had fallen from her stroller two days earlier while Johnson was jogging, and that they had attempted to treat her themselves with home remedies like witch hazel and gauze. The parents additionally said that they decided to bring their baby in for medical care when they noticed that her appetite decreased and that she seemed to have trouble breathing, per the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.

“The parents struggled to provide a precise birthdate for their daughter and laughed while checking in,” the office further stated.

Hospital staff “observed signs of abuse on Iijayah’s body, including burns on the bottoms of her feet, two cuts to the top of her head and face, and bruises on her back,” and called local authorities, per the release. A subsequent autopsy revealed that the newborn had died from blunt trauma that was inconsistent with a fall from a stroller.

Both Parker and Johnson denied causing harm to their baby, and “neither the autopsy nor the investigation … could establish which parent had inflicted Iijayah’s injuries,” the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office said. However, the office noted that the evidence “pointed more strongly to Mr. Johnson.”

The child’s father entered a plea deal and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in August. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison on Oct. 24 — the maximum sentence permitted for the crime.

The child’s mother also entered a plea deal in August and pleaded guilty to child abuse. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Oct. 31, which is “the maximum sentence under Virginia law for felony child abuse,” per the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.

During Parker’s sentencing, Judge Jennifer L. Fuschetti “noted how malnourished the baby had been, [and] the continued lack of an explanation for her injuries,” when detailing her decision to implement the maximum sentence possible.

“There is no victim more vulnerable than a newborn baby,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi said in a statement included in the office’s media release.

“Iijayah came into the world in need of love and protection from her mother and father. What she got instead was suffering and death,” he added.

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“This was a difficult case on the facts, and there were real risks in going to trial, since, while there was no doubt about the nature of Iijayah’s injuries, each parent could have blamed the other for inflicting them. In both cases, we secured a conviction and left the sentencing to the wisdom of the judge. We will continue to work the difficult cases and to honor the memory of innocent victims like Iijayah who cannot speak for themselves,” he continued.

PEOPLE reached out to the Norfolk Police Department and the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for comment on Sunday, Nov. 9, but did not receive an immediate response. It remains unclear who is representing Johnson and Parker at this time.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.