NORFOLK
The early photos depict two healthy-looking infant girls: Miracle Grace Bryant, in a denim dress with gold filigree, her cheeks pudgy. And her twin sister, Heaven, in a white top, her eyes bright.
They were snapped in November by a grandparent who was then caring for the babies, a prosecutor said.
The later photos, introduced in a bond hearing for their parents Wednesday, and taken months after the children were turned over to their parents, were grim. They show a gaunt Miracle after her April 8 death, which authorities have attributed to medical and nutritional neglect.
Others depict Heaven in the Portsmouth Naval Hospital, where she was initially in critical condition. Prosecutor Jill Harris said the baby was so dehydrated she couldn't make tears.
She has since been upgraded to stable condition.
The children, who were 10 months old when their parents were arrested, lived in "filth, feces and cold," Harris told Norfolk Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Lauri D. Hogge.
Other photos from an apartment on Monitor Way in a Navy community show piles of diapers, apparently fouled, and a thermostat set at slightly over 50 degrees.
Harris said the children had lacked nourishment for months. She said Heaven has brain damage.
The twins were believed to have been left in "bouncy seats" for a prolonged period, Harris said.
Heaven had a condition called "contracture" in her legs and hips, a court document said. "It appeared as if the child had been left in a position that prohibited her legs from fully extending," the document states.
The girls' mother, Heaven Kristina Smith, 21, is charged with one count of murder and two counts of felony child neglect.
Her husband, Corey Alan Bryant, also 21, had just returned from a three-week Navy cruise when Miracle died. He is also charged with child neglect. Both are in the Navy.
Smith hung her head and appeared to cry at times in court.
Her attorney, Emily Munn, said she suffered from severe depression after the babies were born and said the Navy knew of the diagnosis.
Munn requested a psychological examination to explore her client's competency to stand trial and her sanity at the time of the offense. Hogge agreed to the request.
Munn said Smith was from Crewe, a couple of hours west of Norfolk, and has a supportive family.
Bryant is from Texas, said Shelly F. Wood, his attorney. She said his mother came to Hampton Roads recently and sees her granddaughter daily at the naval hospital.
Both lawyers asked for bond, saying their clients are no threat to the community and not a risk for becoming fugitives.
Hogge disagreed, denying them bond and sending them back to Norfolk City Jail.
Matthew Roy, (757) 446-2540, matthew.roy@pilotonline.com
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chesschamp
The twin who died was 10 months old. The Dad had been on a three week deployment. It seems reasonable to believe this baby, as well as her sister, had been neglected a long time, perhaps since birth, to have died of starvation. I just don't understand how this could happen with what I had thought were mandatory doctor visits.
Why is the dad on trial?
Wasn't he deployed, serving our country as the story said?
THIS IS SAD!
There are so many resources available to new parents offered through the Navy at the Naval hospital and at the Fleet and Family Service Offices. I am saddened that maybe these parents were not aware of any of the services available to them or that their commands wouldn't allow them to attend any of the new parenting courses. Who knows! This tragedy could have been avoided, but we have to see the facts and see if the mother was indeed depressed, it is a bad illness to deal with, especially with two young ones to look after and no one to help you or guide you. That's what the services offered assist you with, resources and classes to help new parents overcome and handle their new bondle of joy and the new stress. Hope everything goes well for the surviving twin and everyone involved.