A tragic case from Virginia has resulted in prison sentences for a young couple who inflicted fatal harm on their newborn daughter. The parents, Hilary Johnson II and Z’ibreyea S. Parker, were found guilty of the brutal abuse and subsequent death of their 9-day-old baby girl, I’ijayah Johnson. The couple’s disturbing response to the child’s injuries, which included laughter and minimizing the severity, only added to the horror of the situation.

Johnson, aged 24, was sentenced to 19 years in prison, while Parker, 22, received a 10-year sentence. These verdicts were handed down following the legal proceedings in Norfolk, as reported by the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney. The gravity of the crime and the parents’ lack of remorse played a significant role in their sentencing.

The couple’s arrest stemmed from an incident on May 4, 2024, when they took their severely injured baby to the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. Medical staff immediately noticed the alarming signs of abuse, including severe burns on I’ijayah’s feet, lacerations on her head and face, and bruises across her back. Despite the medical team’s efforts, the infant was pronounced dead upon arrival.

A subsequent autopsy revealed that the baby died from blunt force trauma to both her head and torso. Additionally, the burns on her feet, described as “deep partial-thickness,” were attributed to scalding hot liquid. This evidence starkly contradicted Johnson’s claim that his daughter sustained injuries after falling from a stroller during a jog two days prior.

While it remained unclear which parent was primarily responsible for the deadly injuries, prosecutors highlighted Johnson’s greater culpability based on the available evidence. The tragic case underscores the severe consequences of child abuse and the importance of safeguarding the most vulnerable members of our society.

Both parents claimed they didn’t hurt their daughter. They told cops after I’ijayah fell out of the stroller, they treated her injuries with witch hazel, peroxide and gauze. But her appetite decreased and then they noticed she was no longer breathing. Rather than call 911, they took her to the hospital by riding public transportation, according to prosecutors.

“The parents struggled to provide a precise birthdate for their daughter and laughed while checking in,” prosecutors said.

Local CBS affiliate WTKR, citing court documents, reported Parker claimed the injuries “were not all that serious.”

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the murder charge for Parker and the child abuse count for Johnson. At her sentencing, prosecutors asked for three years behind bars while her defense attorneys requested she be released after already having served roughly 16 months. But the judge sentenced her to 10 years, the maximum for child abuse. The judge sentenced Johnson to the maximum prison sentence allowed under the plea agreement.

“There is no victim more vulnerable than a newborn baby. I’ijayah 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 I’ijayah’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 I’ijayah who cannot speak for themselves.”

As Law&Crime previously reported, investigators discovered the parents and child were homeless and had been living in a tent under a highway.

Johnson’s father, Hilary Johnson Sr., told WTKR he expressed concerns to the hospital about the fitness of his son and Parker to be able to take care of I’ijayah after she was born.

“I said I feared for the girl’s life,” he said. “What in the world else am I supposed to do? Now, I got to bury my granddaughter because nobody listened.”

In another interview with local NBC affiliate WAVY following the girl’s death, the elder Johnson said the new parents struggled with their mental health.

“They was bright kids that I don’t know what in the world snapped into them to live the way they were living,” he said. “I prayed to myself before [I’ijayah] 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.’”

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where the girl was born, told WTKR that it has polices to “ensure that suspicions of child abuse or neglect and other reportable concerns are investigated in accordance with the law.”