Hilary Johnson II and Z’ibreyea S. Parker ‘laughed’ in hospital after bringing in their lifeless nine-day-old baby girl, who was covered in injuries including burns to her feet
A mother and father from Virginia have been sentenced over the death of their nine-day-old baby after “laughing” while at the hospital where they brought her lifeless body.
Hilary Johnson II, 24, has been sentenced to 19 years behind bars, while 22-year-old Z’ibreyea S. Parker will spend 10 years in prison over the death of their daughter, I’ijayah Johnson, according to the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney.
The couple arrived at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters I’ijayah’s body at around 12:30pm on May 4, 2024. They told staff that the baby girl, who was cold to touch, had fallen from her stroller and hit her head two days prior while her father was jogging.
The parents had been living in a tent at the time and said that they hadn’t sought medical treatment for I’ijayah sooner because they had attempted treatment on their own using witch hazel, peroxide and gauze. The couple only took her to hospital when they noticed that her appetite had decreased and that she appeared to no longer be breathing.
Johnson and Parker struggled to provide a precise birthdate for their daughter and “laughed while checking in”, the Commonwealth’s Attorney said. Parker claimed the injuries “were not all that serious,” according to court documents obtained by local CBS affiliate WTKR.
At the hospital, staff observed signs of abuse all over little I’ijayah’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.
Medics called Norfolk Police. An autopsy found that I’ijayah died from blunt trauma to her head and torso, with deep partial-thickness burns, which the Commonwealth’s Attorney explained is consistent to burns caused by hot liquid, to her feet as a contributing factor.
“None of her injuries could be explained by a fall from a stroller,” the Commonwealth’s Attorney added. The baby girl also suffered several broken ribs and multiple other internal and external injuries.
Johnson and Parker were both initially charged with felony child abuse and second-degree murder. “Neither the autopsy nor the investigation nor the statements of Mr. Johnson and Ms. Parker could establish which parent had inflicted Iijayah’s injuries, though the evidence pointed more strongly to Mr. Johnson. Both parents denied hurting Iijayah,” prosecutors said.
On August 4, Johnson entered an agreement that saw him plead guilty to second-degree murder and face an active sentence of up to 19 years in prison. In return, the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss the child abuse charge.
On August 19, Parker also entered a plea deal that saw her plead guilty to child abuse, and the Commonwealth agreed to dismiss of murder charge due to insufficient evidence in her case to support that charge.
“There is no victim more vulnerable than a newborn baby. Iijayah came into the world in need of love and protection from her mother and father. What she got instead was suffering and death,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi.
“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.”