COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Two Colerain Township parents are charged with murder after the death of their 4-month-old.
“This is a case that I think will haunt me the rest of my life,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers.
Prosecutors say the child starved to death. Powers said the baby weighed less than six pounds at the time of her death.
“This baby suffered for four months — an agonizing, slow death,” Powers said.
The infant died in December 2022. Goldeci Peterson and Jessica Ransom, the child's biological parents, were charged this week. The prosecutor’s office said the charges were filed after the coroner’s office determined the death to be a homicide.
Peterson and Ransom are each charged with murder, two counts of endangering children and one count of involuntary manslaughter.
“That baby was crying, had to be crying constantly,” Powers said. “To not be able to provide comfort for that child and provide food for that child, so that child could survive, is just unthinkable.”
According to prosecutors, the family did not seek medical care during pregnancy or after a home birth.
WCPO asked pediatrician Dr. Chris Peltier how critical that medical care is.
“Whether it's a planned home birth, or an unexpected, precipitous home delivery, really want to make sure that within 24 hours, a health care provider, either a pediatrician or a family physician, is seeing that baby,” Peltier said, who serves as president of the Ohio chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Peltier said medical care during pregnancy and through delivery is vital for many reasons. After birth, doctors are focused on several things to ensure a baby is healthy.
“Babies get a shot of vitamin K, which is important to help a blood clot,” he said. “Typically, babies will also get an antibiotic eye ointment in their eyes to protect them from potential infections.”
In the following weeks, doctors are focused on the baby’s growth.
Police have not provided additional details about what happened. WCPO made several attempts to contact the family, but has not received a response.
“There is no place on earth for these people,” said Powers. “They deserve to be put behind bars for the rest of their life.”
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