Editor’s Note: Earlier this week we spoke with the infant’s father. At that time, he identified the baby by name, shared photos with us, and said he wanted to talk about the events leading up to her death.
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The parents of a baby found unresponsive last week have been arrested in connection with their daughter’s death, according to a news release. Byron Nathanelle Brown, 20, and Sarah Wroe, 19, have been charged with Capital Murder of a person under the age of 10; their one-month-old daughter, identified as Diamond, died on May 11.
Last week, a Midland Police Department spokesperson issued the following statement:
On Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at approximately 10 p.m., officers with the Midland Police Department and Midland Fire Department were dispatched to the Ranchland Apartments at 1212 E. Wadley Ave. in reference to a call about an unresponsive infant. The infant was transported to Midland Memorial Hospital and was pronounced dead at 5 a.m.
The investigation is ongoing. An autopsy will be performed by the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Brown, who spoke with ABC Big 2 News earlier this week and before he was arrested, said he and his baby’s mother were questioned by MPD after, according to Brown, his daughter was diagnosed with a skull fracture and brain bleed. But he denied any involvement in her injuries.
“The doctors did x-rays and said her skull was broken and her brain was bleeding. They (police) think we did it, they think my wife hit our daughter and that’s just not true,” Brown said.
According to Brown, around 3:00 p.m. on May 10, he received a call from Wroe, who said she was worried because her baby wasn’t waking up. Thinking she just needed to rest, the parents took a nap themselves, Brown said.
Later in the day, Brown said his daughter started convulsing and making “strange noises”, but he and the baby’s mom were hesitant to call EMS.
“She slept for about four hours…she wouldn’t wake up, she wouldn’t eat. Then later that night, my wife told me her (the baby’s) head was swollen.”
Brown said that is when they decided to call 911.
Brown said while at the hospital waiting for their daughter to be airlifted to a hospital in Lubbock, MPD investigators detained the parents and took them back to the police station for questioning.
“The investigators were yelling at us, saying our daughter was suffering from blunt force trauma. They said they think my wife hit our daughter in the head. And while they were talking to us, our daughter died. We didn’t even get to say goodbye.”
Before his arrest, Brown said he hopes an autopsy can shed some light on what happened.
“People are saying we did this, and it’s not true. I just want people to know the truth,” he said.
Both Brown and Wroe were taken into custody on May 19; each is facing a million-dollar bond.
The investigation is on-going.
