Florida couple sentenced in death of starved 11-month-old daughter
03/20/2025 12:23 pm PDT
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) -- A couple will spend time behind bars in connection with the death of their malnourished baby, who was found in a dirty playpen caked with dried feces.
On March 17, the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office said a judge sentenced 27-year-old Margaret Lehman to 13 years and 30-year-old Mark Brittian Jr. to 13 1/4 years in prison for the aggravated manslaughter of their 11-month-old daughter, Marcelyn Brittian.
In September 2021, the Leesburg Police Department responded to the couple’s home to a report of an unresponsive infant. Officers reportedly noticed the home was in "deplorable conditions with a heavy odor of garbage and rotting food throughout the house."
Police located Marcelyn Brittian in a dirty playpen, and she was "covered in dirt and dried feces." Authorities attempted lifesaving measures on the child, but hospital professionals later pronounced her deceased.
According to prosecutors, investigators asked Lehman and Brittian Jr. about their child’s death, and they both said the victim and their 3-year-old child were "happy and healthy."
Further investigation revealed Brittian Jr. had allegedly called two other people 15 minutes before calling law enforcement that morning. Medical examiners also determined the 11-month-old girl likely hadn’t eaten in around two to three days and was "extremely malnourished." Officials arrested and charged the baby’s parents, and family members took custody of the 3-year-old.
State Attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit Bill Gladson said, "This is disgusting. The most vulnerable of our society has been victimized by the most evil. At least in prison, they’ll both receive food, unlike their innocent children."
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