‘Sheer neglect’: Boston parents charged in death of 5-week-old infant, DA says

BOSTON — A mother and father from Boston are facing criminal charges in connection with the death of their five-week-old baby daughter, prosecutors announced Monday.

Raynell Reed, 31, and Gerard Winn, 52, of the city’s Dorchester neighborhood, were indicted Friday by a Suffolk County grand jury on a charge of manslaughter in the infant’s January 2025 death, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

Reed prematurely gave birth to the girl at an apartment she shared with Winn on Dec. 5, 2024, nearly two months earlier than her expected due date, prosecutors said. She then allegedly failed to seek medical care for the infant as her health deteriorated.

“During the five weeks of the infant’s life, she failed to gain or maintain weight and was severely malnourished. Despite knowing that their baby was born at least two months premature and observing that the newborn was unable to gain or maintain weight, Reed and Winn never sought any medical care‚" Hayden’s office wrote in a news release.

Reed called 911 on the morning of Jan. 9, 2025, reporting that the baby was not breathing. The infant was rushed to Boston Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

At the time of her death, the infant weighed only two-and-a-half pounds, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors also allege that Reed and Winn used illegal substances around the infant, resulting in her exposure to these substances.

The State Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the infant died due to acute intoxication from the combined effects of fentanyl and cocaine, in a premature infant with malnourishment and sepsis, prosecutors noted. Toxicology confirmed the presence of both fentanyl and cocaine in the infant’s heart blood and liver blood.

In a statement, DA Hayden said, “It’s difficult to conceive of something more tragic than a child being born and then ignored to the extent it leads to death by malnourishment and sheer neglect. The allegation that the parents were using dangerous drugs in the newborn’s presence only adds to the terrible aspects of this crime.”

Reed and Winn were ordered held on $100,000 bail.

They are due back on court on Dec. 18.

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