DeKalb County father, girlfriend sentenced to decades in prison for beating death of his 5-year-old daughter

DECATUR, GA—A DeKalb County man and his girlfriend have been sentenced to decades in prison for the 2021 brutal beating death of the man’s young daughter.

Investigators reported that the couple took turns beating the child until she lost consciousness after she did not do chores. The father then took her to a hospital, claiming she had been in a car accident. 

The case reached its conclusion on Wednesday, March 19, when DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Nora Polk sentenced Unchinna Myrick, 28, to 50 years, with 30 years to be served in custody and the balance on probation, for her role in the death of Janiyah Herring, 5, on May 29, 2021. 

Myrick pleaded guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter and two counts of Cruelty to Children in the First Degree.

The child’s father, Cedric O’Neal Herring, now 30, was found guilty on Sept. 13, 2024 of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and two counts of Cruelty to Children in the First Degree. A month later, Judge Polk sentenced Cedric Herring to life in prison for his daughter’s death. 

According to the investigation, Herring carried Janiyah into the emergency room at Emory Decatur Hospital and told the nurse at the front desk they had been in a multi-vehicle car accident.  He claimed his daughter was knocked unconscious in the crash and had not woken up, District Attorney Sherry Boston’s office stated.  The nurse immediately realized Janiyah was not breathing and rushed her to a room for treatment.  A team of medical professionals worked for an hour to revive Janiyah, but they were not successful. 

A doctor at the hospital conducted a physical examination of Janiyah and discovered most of the girl’s body was covered in bruises and wounds consistent with child abuse.  Hospital staff notified the DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD), the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), and the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office. 

DKPD officers interviewed Herring, who gave them more details about the alleged car accident, but investigators found no record of the accident, nor the vehicle Herring claimed he was driving at the time of the crash.  When officers asked Herring about Janiyah’s injuries, he admitted that he sometimes used a belt to hit his children when they misbehaved. 

An autopsy performed by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed Janiyah died of blunt force trauma and the manner of her death was homicide.  

Investigators interviewed Defendant Herring’s surviving children who told them Janiyah had refused to help clean up the house on the day of her death, so Herring’s girlfriend, Unchinna Myrick, whipped Janiyah with a cord.  When the girl tried to get away from her, Myrick tied her to a bed and continued to beat her.  Eventually, Myrick released Janiyah and the girl fell to the floor.  

Herring came into the room and yelled at his daughter to get up, when she did not, he also beat her.  Herring realized something was wrong and tried to revive Janiyah with an ice bath before taking her to the hospital. 

The case, assigned to the Child Crimes Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Sarah Hilleren, Senior Assistant District Attorney Hannah Pendergast, District Attorney Investigator Kendall Ham and Victim Advocate Jenaiya Coleman.  DeKalb County Police Department Detectives Kearney and Fowler lead the initial investigation.