The mother of a two-year-old child from Whitman pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges in connection with her toddler’s death, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office announced.
In December of 2019, police said Lyric Farrell, was taken to a local hospital after police received a call for an unresponsive child. Farrell was later taken off life support.
In its statement, the DA’s office said investigators determined Farrell’s mother, 29-year-old Shaniqua Leonard, failed to take action when her daughter was in need of medical attention.
“Lyric Farrell was a perfectly healthy 2 1/2 year-old who loved bubbles, her daycare, and the colors blue and purple,” District Attorney Timothy Cruz said this week. “She was loved, she was special, and didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
The State Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Farrell died from complications of blunt force trauma to the head.
Leonard this week pleaded guilty to charges including manslaughter and reckless endangerment of a child, according to the DA’s office.
She was sentenced to serve between three and four years in prison with five years of probation.
