Parents Sentenced in Starvation Death of Infant Daughter

Seven-week-old Trinity Crowder didn’t die from illness or accident — she starved to death while in the sole care of her parents, Jay Crowder, 34, and Trishelle Jabore, 27, of Washington, D.C. Both were sentenced today to 12-year federal prison terms after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, first-degree cruelty to children, and welfare fraud stemming from the infant’s horrific death.

The case, prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), exposed a pattern of neglect so grotesque that even as the baby wasted away, her parents spent welfare funds on marijuana, cigarettes, and Internet service. The couple received $995 monthly in benefits, including food stamps, yet paid only $9.80 in rent. In November 2016, they sold $150 worth of food stamps to a relative, further gutting resources meant to feed their newborn.

Trinity was born on Nov. 6, 2016, weighing 4 pounds, 14.5 ounces — small but viable. Both mother and child tested positive for THC at birth. Despite having prior parenting experience, Crowder and Jabore failed to provide basic nutrition. Instead of proper formula, they diluted bottles with water or fed the infant cow’s milk — a dangerous substitute that damages a baby’s digestive system. FDA chemists confirmed a bottle seized at the scene contained almost no nutritional value.

On Christmas morning 2016, Crowder found the infant lifeless in her car seat after leaving her there for 14 hours. The baby had not eaten. Her lips were yellow, her breathing labored. For three hours, the parents did nothing. Jabore finally called 911 at noon, claiming the baby was unconscious and not breathing. D.C. Fire and EMS rushed the child to Children’s National Medical Center, where doctors pronounced her dead at 12:26 p.m. She weighed less than at birth — a 10.5-ounce loss.

Autopsy results painted a damning picture: 13 rib fractures, a broken clavicle, and severe diaper rash showed prolonged abuse. The infant was cachectic — severely malnourished. Despite having food in the home for others, Crowder and Jabore gave their daughter a fraction of the formula needed to survive. They never once took her to a doctor.

Crowder’s guilty plea, accepted by Judge José M. Lόpez, included an additional charge of attempted distribution of synthetic cannabinoids (K2). Both defendants will serve 12 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide by starvation and neglect — a crime not of impulse, but of sustained, willful indifference.