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CLEVELAND–A Cuyahoga County convicted a woman and her boyfriend in the death of her 4-year-old daughter.
Sierra Day, 24, and Deonte Lewis, 27, were found guilty of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, permitting child abuse, endangering children and tampering with evidence.
They will be sentenced on March 20 at 12:15 p.m.
“This verdict should send a message to those in our county that we will not permit our children to be harmed. If you hurt our children, we will prosecute you in every way we can,” said Aqueelah Jordan, assistant prosecuting attorney.
The case gained nationwide attention, emphasizing the need for fathers’ rights and putting Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services under the microscope.
“You had a father, Mickhal Garrett, who fought every step of the way for his daughter. What made this compelling is his fight and Aniya,” Jordan said.
During the trial, prosecutors called to the stand first responders, forensic experts, and social workers to detail the years of abuse Aniya Day-Garrett endured.
Emergency crews responded to an apartment on Lakeshore Avenue in Euclid on March 11, 2018 for an unresponsive child. But it was too late, Aniya wasn’t breathing. Paramedics said they tried to revive her and she was pronounced dead at the hospital. She had burn marks on her feet and legs, and appeared emaciated.
One pathologist said Aniya suffered a stroke, which caused her to lose the ability to walk, talk and eat. She weighed just 26 pounds when she died.
READ MORE: Fox8.com
Article Courtesy of WJW Fox 8 News Cleveland
First Picture Courtesy of 93.1 WZAK-FM Cleveland and Urban One, Inc.
Second Picture Courtesy of Hero Images and Getty Images
Video Courtesy of Facebook and WJW Fox 8 News Cleveland
LOCAL NEWS: Aniya Day-Garrett’s Mother and the Boyfriend Found Guilty of the 4-Year-Old’s Murder was originally published on wzakcleveland.com
