A jury has acquitted a 31-year-old Arlington man who had been charged with the murder of his 3-month-old daughter.
Jerard Stanley Hargrove was found not guilty of second-degree murder in Arlington County Circuit Court on Monday, more than a year and a half after he was indicted for the charge that would have carried a maximum of 40 years in prison.
However, a jury did convict him of one count of child abuse/neglect.
“We are grateful the jury vindicated Jerard, and did not believe he had a role in the death of his daughter,” chief public defender Bradley Haywood told ARLnow. “He is a good man — an ‘awesome dad,’ according to the Commonwealth’s own witnesses — who never deserved to be blamed for this tragedy.”
Police had arrived in the Columbia Forest neighborhood on Sept. 1, 2022, following a report that the 3-month-old had gone into cardiac arrest. The child was transported to a local hospital, where she died the following month, on Oct. 8.
In April 2023, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide due to complications concerning a blunt-force injury to the head.
The indictment cited possible offense dates ranging more than two months. At trial, however, prosecutors were unable to point to a specific instance that resulted in the 3-month-old’s death.
Haywood — who said on social media that this was is final trial before stepping down as the county’s chief public defender — says his office intends to appeal the child abuse charge.
“Even though we prevailed on the most significant allegations, we nevertheless believe significant errors were made that deprived Mr. Hargrove of his right to a fair trial — including reliance on junk science — without which Jerard would have likewise been exonerated of the lesser charge,” Haywood said.
Hargrove is currently scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 21.
Photo via Joe Gratz/Flickr
