Baltimore couple charged in beating death of infant
Prosecutors have charged a Baltimore man and his girlfriend in the beating death of his infant daughter. Emergency personnel responding to a report of a child not breathing on Dec. 19 arrived at the Belair-Edison neighborhood apartment of Jerome Jermain Wallace and Natarsha Farmer to find Wallace attempting to administer CPR to 22-month old Janaya Wallace. The child was taken to the emergency room at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later, according to the charging documents. Detectives examining the body at the hospital noted trauma to her face and neck; a medical examiner found multiple internal and external injuries and ruled the death a homicide. Wallace, 24, and Farmer, 22, both of the 2800 block of Kentucky Avenue, were each charged with first- and second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse resulting in death, first- and second-degree assault and other offenses. Farmer was not Janaya's biological mother, according to the charging documents. According to the documents, Farmer and Wallace gave conflicting statements to investigators about their whereabouts in the hours before Janaya's death. According to the documents, two independent witnesses told investigators that Wallace and Farmer were in the basement apartment with the infant between midnight and 2 p.m. on Dec. 19, when Wallace said he discovered that she was not breathing. One of the witnesses reported seeing Janaya asleep without obvious injury at midnight, according to the documents. Wallace and Farmer were arrested on warrants last week, a spokeswoman for State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy said. They were being held without bail at the Baltimore City Detention Center pending a hearing on Monday.
-Matthew Hay Brown
Police identify suspect in Annapolis hit-and-run
Police have located a suspect in the hit-and-run death of an Annapolis man early on New Year's Day. Alfred Byrd was crossing or walking within the right travel lane of Bay Ridge Road east of Edgewood Road about 2 a.m. Friday when he was struck by a vehicle traveling east. Byrd, 40, of 1212 Louis Ave., Annapolis, was pronounced dead at the scene. The vehicle, which was believed to be a Chevrolet Suburban or Tahoe truck or a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, continued east on Bay Ridge Road. On Saturday, police said they located a suspect and a suspect vehicle. They said Thomas Leonard Judge, 21, of 3153 Catrina Lane, Annapolis, was driving the 2001 Chevrolet Silverado. They identified Jason Ruegg, 21, of 3519 Saratoga Ave., Annapolis, and John Deleonibus, 21, of 735 Intrepid Way, Davidsonville, as passengers. Charges were pending a review of the case by the Anne Arundel County state's attorney's office, police said.
- Matthew Hay Brown
Glen Burnie man faces murder charges in girlfriend's death
Police have charged a Glen Burnie man with murder in the death of his live-in girlfriend. Patrick Rhys, 43, of the 400 block of Summer Wind Way was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree assault in the death of Gloria Tongue, 49, of the same address. Tongue's body was found Friday afternoon with what appeared to be trauma to the upper body. An autopsy will determine the cause of death. Police say Rhys went to a cousin's home in the Parkville area of Baltimore County on Friday and told the cousin that he had killed a woman at his residence. The cousin contacted Baltimore County police, who detained Rhys. Anne Arundel Police dispatched officers to the apartment shared by Rhys and Tongue shortly before 2 p.m. Friday. When no one answered the door, police say, the officers forced their way in and found Tongue's body.
- Matthew Hay Brown