Rampant Abuse and Murders of Children

[Lady Cop]

A four-year-old boy died weighing less than 21 lbs. after being beaten, handcuffed and denied food by his abusive uncle, a jury trying the child's aunt for murder has heard.

Robert Byrd died from malnutrition and neglect in May last year after he and his seven-year-old brother Anthony Jr were tortured by Randy Gardner.

Gardner was jailed for 30 to 60 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, but his wife Matilda Brown Gardner is on trial after she denied killing the boy.

Brown Gardner, of Highland Park, Michigan, faces charges of first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder and first-degree child abuse in Robert's death.

The jury has begun deliberating in the case, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Robert weighed 21lbs at the time of his death - barely more than half the weight of an average boy his age, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He was said to have skin erosions and bruises on about 90 per cent of his body.

A pathologist testified that the boy had chemical burns from sitting in urine and feces.

Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Lora Weingarden told jurors in her closing argument that Brown Gardner aided her husband by not reporting the abuse or stepping in to prevent it.

Ms Weingarden said that, days before Robert's death, Brown Gardner spoke to a nurse at Children's Hospital in Detroit and lied about her name as she said Robert had flu-like symptoms.

'She sees he's dying and calls Children's Hospital, lies about her name because she's seen what the child's body looks like and she knew she would be in trouble," the prosecutor said.

'She wanted that child to die.'

Robert and Anthony Jr moved in with the Gardners in 2007 after their mother died of a brain aneurysm.

Carl Schmidt, Chief Pathologist for the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office, testified in June that Robert’s injuries likely stemmed from being beaten and bound over time, as well as chemical burns from sitting in urine and faeces, the Examiner reported

Food had probably been withheld from the boy for months, Dr Schmidt added.

At Wayne County Circuit Court last month, Gardner was sentenced for murder, torture and child abuse.

Robert's father, Anthony Byrd Sr, addressed the court on that occasion.

Mr Byrd said: 'I’m still, like, messed up in the head right now, why did my son have to go out like that?'







Robert's uncle Randy Gardner, left, has admitted murder, torture and child abuse. His wife Matilda Brown Gardner denies killing the child

http://www.freep.com/article/20120524/NE...|FRONTPAGE