DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A Decatur man and his girlfriend will spend years in prison after being convicted in connection to his five-year-old daughter’s death.
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On Wednesday, Unchinna Myrick, 28, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree.
Last September, Cedric O’Neal Herring, now 30, was found guilty of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault and two counts of cruelty in the first degree.
The conviction stems from the death of Cedric Herring’s five-year-old daughter Janiyah Herring.
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According to the investigation, on May 29, 2021, Cedric carried his daughter into Emory Decatur Hospital emergency room and told the nurse, they were in a multi-vehicle car crash. The 30-year-old said his daughter was knocked unconscious in the crash and didn’t wake up. Officials said, the nurse realized the child was not breathing and rushed her into a room for medical treatment.
After an hour, doctors were unable to revive the little girl.
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office said, a doctor examined the five-year-old and found most of her body was covered in bruises and wounds consistent with child abuse. Hospital staff contacted DeKalb County police, the medical examiner’s office, and the Division of Family and Children Services.
When police interviewed Cedric Herring, he shared more details about the alleged car accident, but investigators said the accident never occurred, nor the vehicle he claimed he was driving during the time of the crash.
The DA said, that when police asked Cedric Herring about the child’s injuries, he admitted that he sometimes hit his children with a belt when they misbehaved.
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An autopsy revealed that the five-year-old died of blunt force trauma and the cause of death was homicide.
According to the DA, when investigators spoke with Cedric Herring’s other children, they said the five-year-old had refused to help clean up the house on the day that she died. Police said this was when Cedric Herring’s girlfriend, Myrick whipped Janiyah Herring with a cord. When the five-year-old tried to get away, Myrick tied her to a bed and continued to beat her, authorities said.
Eventually, Myrick released the child and Janiyah Herring fell to the floor. The DA said, Cedric Herring came into the room and yelled at his daughter to get up and when she didn’t, he also beat her. He realized something was wrong, and tried to revive his child with an ice bath before taking her to the hospital.
In October 2024, a judge sentenced Herring to life in prison. Myrick was sentenced to 50 years to serve 30 in custody with the remaining years on probation.
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