COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A mother who let her teenage daughter starve to death will spend the next 30 years in prison.
Markea Berry was 16 when she was found dead inside her family’s Cobb County home in 2012. She weighed only 43 pounds at the time and died of malnutrition, authorities said. Her mother, 37-year-old Ebony Berry was arrested and initially charged with murder, but Tuesday she pleaded guilty to reduce charges.
Even after two years in jail, Ebony Berry insisted she never intentionally set out to kill her daughter. In court, Channel 2's Ross Cavitt said she offered a meager apology.
“I just want to apologize for everybody having to come out today for my situation and my circumstances involving my daughter,” Ebony Berry said.
Police originally charged Ebony Berry, with murder. However, in court, prosecutors said during the course of the investigation, they came to the conclusion that she did not intentionally cause her daughter’s death.
“After further investigation and a review of all the evidence, we believe she wasn’t intentionally starving the child and she suffered from eating disorders," prosecutor Lindsay Gardner said.
"She had three other kids including an infant and Markea was a special needs child so it’s very special circumstances,” defense attorney Rick Kimberly said.
Prosecutors told the judge that Markea Berry kept a journal that indicated she thought hunger would lead to salvation.
Ebony Berry is also not allowed to have contact with her three other children who are now with family members out of state according to court officials. The plea deal sent her to prison for the next 30 years, followed by 10 years on probation and she gets credit for the two years she already served.
Ebony and her lawyer admitted that she had many opportunities to seek treatment for her daughter’s eating disorders but did not do so.
“Basically she should have taken the child to the hospital, the doctor or something over the course of these couple of years. So our biggest concern is she failed this child and ultimately because she didn’t seek the adequate and necessary treatment, this child is now deceased,” Gardner said.
Some of Ebony Berry's family also believes DFACS in Georgia failed the child as well saying they had adequate warning signs. They filed a $1,000,000 civil suit against DFACS for missing those warning signs last year.
WSBTV
