Ex-Barrington couple charged in baby's death weighing plea deal
A former Barrington couple charged in the January 2014 starvation death of one of their infant twin daughters are considering a plea deal before their case goes to trial next month.
Markisha Jones, 20, and Gene Edwards, 23, are charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony child endangerment stemming from the death of their then 7-month-old daughter, Mya G. Edwards, from malnutrition.
The couple, jailed on $250,000 bail each, have until their next appearance in Cook County court Nov. 13 to decide whether to accept the offer made Wednesday.
Terms of the offer were presented to the public defenders representing the couple during a private conference and not made public. Jones and Edwards previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Mya Edwards' surviving twin sister, Mia Edwards, has been placed in foster care with the possibility of being adopted after her parents' parental rights were severed, Barrington detective Sgt. Kevin Croke said.
Mia Edwards was immediately hospitalized on the day Mya Edwards' death was reported, because first responders found the surviving girl's condition "concerning."
The Department of Children and Family Services conducted its own investigation, separate from the criminal investigation, and determined that the parents had neglected the baby girls.
Criminal charges were brought against Jones and Edwards in May 2014, after a four-month investigation.
During that time, the couple had moved out of their apartment in a single-family home in Barrington and back to Bolingbrook, where they had graduated from Bolingbrook High School.
While in custody, Jones gave birth to a son, who is now 8 months old, according to public defender Caroline Glennon. The healthy boy is being raised by family, Glennon said.
At their bond hearing last year, Cook County prosecutors said Jones and Edwards had stopped feeding their twin daughters formula on Nov. 1, 2013. Instead, the nearly 6-month-old girls were given water, cereal and baby food.
The babies were left alone for long periods of time in the basement of their parents' apartment, while the adults were upstairs, prosecutors said. Gene Edwards often played video games there with a cousin, they said.
Shortly before noon Jan. 8, 2014, Gene Edwards noticed that Mya wasn't breathing and attempted to resuscitate her while paramedics were called.
First responders were unable to save Mya but took Mia to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, where her condition gradually improved.
Mya Edwards was laid to rest at Evergreen Cemetery in Barrington, after a funeral organized by the nonprofit Rest in His Arms.
The service was attended by 150 people, including 30 members of the Barrington police and fire departments and one family member - Mya's uncle, Joaquin Edwards.