Va. parents arrested after 9-day-old baby dies from severe injuries

NORFOLK, Va. (TCD) — A 21-year-old woman and 23-year-old man are facing murder charges after their 9-day-old daughter died from injuries consistent with “shaken baby” syndrome.

According to the Norfolk Police Department, on May 4, officers went to Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters for a protection call because a newborn was admitted to the hospital with apparent signs of abuse. The infant was later pronounced deceased.

Police arrested the girl’s parents, Z’ibreyea Parker and Hilary Johnson, for child abuse. The medical examiner conducted an autopsy and ruled her death a homicide, so Johnson and Parker were also charged with second-degree murder.

Court documents shared by WAVY-TV say the girl, who was identified as I’ijayah Johnson, was “cold to the touch” when she arrived at the hospital. According to the affidavit, I’ijaya Johnson had “severe burns on both feet, splash burns on other areas of her body,” a broken clavicle, broken ribs, and “severe” bruising on her head. There were “clear signs of ‘shaken baby’ syndrome.”

Parker and Johnson were reportedly homeless and living in a tent off the highway because Johnson’s grandfather kicked them out of his house when Parker gave birth.

Johnson was allegedly “cavalier about the offense and asserted that it couldn’t be proven that he ‘did it’ because he brought the baby to the hospital.”

Parker reportedly told investigators she did not think her daughter’s injuries “were all that serious,” so she treated the wounds with witch hazel and “other home remedies.”

Parker and Johnson are being held in the Norfolk City Jail without bond.

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