Mother of Aniya Day-Garrett sentenced to life without parole, boyfriend parole eligible in 20 years

The prosecutor's office also asked that the pair be ordered to spend every March 11 in solitary isolation, to mark the anniversary of Aniya's death.

Author: Ryan Haidet, Stephanie Metzger

Published: 6:55 AM EDT March 20, 2019

Updated: 6:22 PM EDT March 20, 2019

CLEVELAND — The couple who murdered 4-year-old Aniya Day Garrett was ordered to spend the rest of their lives behind bars Wednesday.
Sierra Day, convicted in the murder of her daughter, 4-year-old Aniya Day-Garrett, was sentenced to life without parole. Her boyfriend, Deonte Lewis, also convicted in the crimes, received life in prison with parole eligibility after 20 years.
The prosecutor's office also asked that the pair be ordered to spend every March 11 in solitary isolation, to mark the anniversary of Aniya's death.
"I don't believe in 24 years I've seen a more callous disregard for human life than I did with Sierra Day," Judge Timothy McCormick said prior to announcing the sentences.
Day, 24, and Lewis, 27, were both found guilty to multiple charges earlier this month for the March 2018 murder of Aniya. Her cause of death was cerebral necrosis due to blunt impacts to the head with subdural hematoma, according to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office.
When asked if she wished to speak, Day declined.

Sierra Day on March 20, 2019.

WKYC

Lewis' attorneys said they don't believe his conviction was fair, claiming Aniya was abused by her mother long before she began dating Lewis.

Deonte Lewis on March 20, 2019.

Deonte Lewis on March 20, 2019.

WKYC

Medics on scene observed the victim had areas that appeared to be burns on her body and a large black bruise on her left eye. She was taken to a hospital where she was confirmed with no more signs of life.
The Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office also found that she was emaciated, malnourished and had suffered a large stroke due to tearing blood vessels on the brain.
WKYC's investigative team found that Aniya was abused as far back as 2015 in the custody of her mother and her boyfriend. Meanwhile, Aniya's father, Mickhal Garrett, says he fought for her custody prior to her death.
Garrett was the first to address the court Wednesday afternoon.
"In this instance, some justice has been served," he said before thanking the jury for convicting Day and Lewis for the crimes.

CLEVELAND — After one day of deliberations, a jury found a mother and her boyfriend guilty in the death of 4-year-old Aniya Day-Garrett.

Twenty-four-year-old Sierra Day and her boyfriend, 27-year-old Deonte Lewis, were found guilty of multiple charges, including murder and aggravated murder, in Aniya’s death.

The Story about Aniya Day - Garrett Book

The Story About Aniya Day -Garrett Book

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Aniya Day-Garrett suffered the blows to her head that triggered her death several weeks, or even a few months, before the severely malnourished toddler died last March, an employee of the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office testified Tuesday.

“She didn’t receive the trauma and then die,” Forensic pathologist Joseph Felo told jurors. “Her body is slowly withering away.”

Felo’s testimony wrapped up the fourth day of testimony in the trial of Aniya’s mother, Sierra Day, and Day’s boyfriend, Deonte Lewis, who each face charges of aggravated murder, murder, child endangering and permitting child abuse in her death.

Jurors were visibly shaken as they viewed photographs from Aniya’s autopsy, and Felo painted an unsettling look at the 4-year-old girl’s final weeks alive.

The testimony will be key to the prosecution’s case, as they have no direct witnesses to the girl’s death or presented jurors with a theory as to how either Day or Lewis delivered the blows to her head.

Felo said Aniya suffered “significant trauma” to her head that ruptured blood vessels on her brain. That brain bleed turned into a clot, which eventually triggered a stroke, Felo said. All of this occurred at least two weeks, and possibly up to several months, before she died, Felo said.

The stroke would have likely left caused obvious physical signs that something was wrong with the girl, Felo said. She likely would have had difficulty using the right side of her body, and she would have likely grown despondent, Felo said. The stroke could have also affected her speech, and left her clumsy and uncoordinated, Felo said.

“This is the only time I’ve ever seen a stroke of this degree in a child,” Felo said.

Aniya was also severely malnourished when she died, Felo said. Autopsy photographs presented in court Tuesday showed she was so thin that her skin had become wrinkly and sagging, like that of an elderly person, Felo said.

The photos also showed Aniya had a severe black eye and a cut on her eye. Felo said Aniya was still alive when she suffered the black eye, and he guessed it happened about two days before her death.

Aniya also suffered ruptured blisters on her legs and the beginnings of what looked like bedsores, Felo said. Investigators originally suspected that they were burn marks.

Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia asked Felo if lying for several days straight in a urine-soaked bed would have caused similar injuries. He said yes.

Investigators earlier testified that the mattress in Aniya’s bedroom had smelled strongly of urine when they found her body.

Earlier on Tuesday, Euclid Police Detective Jennifer Koczak testified that she pulled Aniya’s medical records after her death, and the records showed Aniya had not seen a doctor since the previous July.

Felo is expected to continue testifying Wednesday morning

Aniya Day-Garrett suffered stroke several weeks or even months before her death, medical examiner testifies

Updated Mar 5, 2019; Posted Mar 5, 2019