A Cobb County mother did not intentionally starve her 16-year-old daughter to death, according to investigators. But Ebony Espree Berry should have taken her oldest child to the doctor, and could have called 911 immediately after finding the teen unresponsive in June 2012, an assistant district attorney said.
Berry, 37, of Smyrna, pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to involuntary manslaughter and two counts of cruelty to children for the death of the teen, who weighed 43 pounds. Under a plea agreement, Judge James Bodiford sentenced Berry to 30 years in prison, followed by 10 years on probation, during which she may not have contact with children.
Berry had been charged and indicted with murder after the teenager, Markea, was found dead in the family’s home. Berry instead pleaded guilty to lesser charges, avoiding a trial that had been scheduled for November. Investigators determined that the mother did not withhold food from the teen, who suffered from eating disorders, including anorexia and bulimia, and mental disorders, a prosecutor told the court.
“But just because the victim had an eating disorder does not absolve this defendant from responsibility in this death,” Lindsay Gardner, assistant DA, said. “Had she gotten the victim the help she needed, there’s a chance Markea would be here today.”
Berry has been in the Cobb jail since June 15, 2012, when she was arrested and charged with murder hours after her oldest child was found dead.
After finding the teen unresponsive on a mattress, Berry waited more than an hour before calling 911, Gardner said. During that time, she called her parents and tended to her other three children.
Berry’s attorney, Rick Kimberly, said the mother of four was overwhelmed, but there was ample food in the family’s house. Still, Markea did not always eat, writing in her diary that she believed hunger was a way to salvation.
“In Miss Berry’s instance, I think she got overwhelmed with three other kids and a newborn infant,” Kimberly said. “We would wholeheartedly agree with the state that there was no intent to kill her daughter.”
Berry, who will get credit for the time she has already served, offered a short apology to the court. Her surviving children are with relatives in Michigan.
“I just want to apologize for everybody having to come out today for my situation and my circumstances involving my daughter,” she said.
At the time of Markea’s death, the Berry family had been under investigation for nearly 10 years by child protection services in both Michigan and Georgia, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation determined. Months after Markea was found alone in Walmart at the age of 14, both a caseworker and supervisor with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services noted that girl was undernourished, but the case was closed.
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