Parents sentenced to 60 years after 5-year-old daughter died of malnutrition

BALTIMORE, Md. — A judge ordered a Baltimore couple to spend 60 years behind bars after they pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death.

Bernice and Gerald Byrd faced charges after their 5-year-old daughter Zona died of malnutrition.

They also faced charges of child abuse related to their 6-year-old son, who was also found severely malnourished.

In a statement Thursday, State's Attorney Ivan Bates said "no punishment that our office can request will atone for starving a child to death."

The sentence also includes five years of supervised probation upon their release, and no contact with their surviving children.

Bates added, "as a father, the facts of the case are nauseating, and my heart continues to ache for Zona who was taken from us too soon due to the inconceivable cruelty of her parents."

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