Judge Condemns, Then Lets Them Walk

Defendant in handcuffs stands before a judge in a courtroom — Photo: wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock

A 75-day-old baby girl starved to death, her parents admitted manslaughter, and a New York judge still sent them home on probation instead of to prison.

Story Snapshot

Buffalo parents pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in their infant’s starvation death.
The medical examiner ruled the baby’s death a homicide by neglect caused by malnutrition and dehydration.
The judge called their conduct “absolutely outrageous” but still gave them five years of probation, not prison.
Similar child starvation cases around the country have led to long prison terms and even life sentences.

Parents admit manslaughter after baby dies from starvation

Prosecutors in Erie County, New York say baby Londyn Gonzalez was born healthy on April 20, 2023, weighing 6 pounds 8 ounces. Within just 75 days, she was dead from malnutrition and dehydration. The Erie County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide by neglect, caused by starvation and lack of fluids. Her parents, 26-year-old Luis Gonzalez Jr. and 23-year-old Kitrina Udrea of Buffalo, were charged with second-degree manslaughter for recklessly causing their infant daughter’s death.

The Erie County District Attorney’s Office said investigators concluded the parents “while acting in concert with one another, recklessly caused the death of their infant daughter.” District Attorney Michael Keane went further in public comments, stressing that this was not a one-time mistake. He said the crime was “the intentional withholding of nutrition for several weeks from their own baby” and that the child’s cries and doctors’ advice were ignored. That description frames the case as deliberate neglect, not a momentary lapse.

Judge condemns conduct but chooses probation over prison

Second-degree manslaughter in New York can carry up to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors described it as the “highest sustainable charge” and said it was the sole count in the indictment. Despite that potential sentence, Gonzalez and Udrea received a dramatically lighter outcome. After initially spending 45 days in jail, they pleaded guilty in May and were sentenced to five years of probation with no additional prison time. Local television and national outlets repeated the same core result: no further incarceration beyond time served.

At sentencing, Judge James Bargnesi did not sugarcoat what happened. According to coverage of the hearing, he called the parents’ behavior “absolutely outrageous” and “absolutely inexcusable.” Those are the words you expect to hear before a stiff prison term, not probation. Yet Bargnesi still allowed them to avoid prison and return to the community under supervision. For many Americans who believe the justice system should strongly defend vulnerable children, that gap between the judge’s words and the sentence lands as a slap in the face.

How this sentence compares with other child starvation cases

This Buffalo case does not stand alone. Around the country, prosecutors have brought starvation deaths as homicide or serious neglect, and sentences often look very different. In Washington, D.C., parents Jay Crowder and Trishelle Jabore received 12-year federal prison terms after their seven-week-old daughter died from starvation-related causes. In another D.C. case, prosecutors secured voluntary manslaughter pleas from parents in an infant starvation death, again seeking years behind bars.

In San Diego, parents Brandon Copeland and Elizabeth Ucman were convicted in the starvation death of their three-month-old daughter and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. A Florida couple whose 11-month-old daughter starved to death received more than 13 years in prison after being found guilty of neglect causing death. An Indiana mother was sentenced to 65 years in prison for starving her three-month-old son, after a jury convicted her of murder and neglect of a dependent. Compared with those cases, five years of probation for a baby’s starvation death in New York looks extremely lenient.

What we do not know about the judge’s reasoning

Public records and news coverage do not yet include the full sentencing transcript, the written judgment, or the pre-sentence report for the Buffalo case. Those documents could reveal mitigation factors, such as mental health issues, prior child welfare involvement, or expert opinions that influenced the judge. Without them, we see only the surface: a guilty plea to manslaughter, a clear medical finding of homicide by neglect, harsh words from the bench, and then probation instead of prison.

New York parents who pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the starvation death of their infant daughter will not serve any time behind bars. On Thursday, Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi sentenced Luis Gonzalez Jr., 26, and Kitrina Udrea, 23, both of Buffalo, to… pic.twitter.com/gVv2VqrdFw

— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) August 3, 2026

Defense materials, family court records, or psychological evaluations may be sealed or confidential. That means the public debate is shaped mostly by short news stories and social media outrage. Many observers, especially those with conservative values that stress personal responsibility, see a simple and troubling picture: a healthy newborn starved over weeks, parents admit manslaughter, maximum exposure up to 15 years, and then they walk out with probation. On its face, that outcome raises serious questions about how our justice system weighs the life of a child.