Rochester mother indicted in death of son

UPDATE (Feb. 8, 2023): A grand jury handed up a three-count indictment against Bryasia Love, the Rochester woman accused of killing her one-year-old son and seriously injuring her two-year-old daughter.

According to the Monroe County District Attorney's office, the grand jury charged Love with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and second-degree assault. Police say that Love subjected the two young children to significant physical abuse. A'mias Love died from his injuries after five days at Strong Memorial Hospital. Love's daughter survived and was released from the hospital after being treated for her injuries.

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ORIGINAL STORY (January 28, 2023): Tensions were high in Rochester City Court Friday morning as Bryasia Love made her first court appearance since being charged with the murder of her 1-year-old son. It appeared that more than a dozen friends and family members were in court to witness Love's arraignment.

As Love entered the courtroom in a red and white striped inmate uniform, a member of the gallery shouted angrily at her and Love yelled back defiantly before court deputies restored order. As the proceedings came to a close, Love called out again to observers seated in the courtroom but was rushed out of the courtroom by a pair of deputies.

Love is charged with second-degree murder in the beating death of her son, A'mias Love, who died at Strong Memorial Hospital Tuesday.

A felony complaint charges that Love subjected her son to "physical abuse by blunt force," which resulted in skull fractures, damage to his liver and right lung, severe damage to his eyes, and bruising on his head, neck and chest.

She is also charged with second-degree assault for subjecting her 2-year-old daughter to physical abuse.

The criminal complaint, filed Friday morning, says that Love was the children's sole caregiver and lived with them in a Joseph Ave. apartment where the abuse occurred on Jan. 19. Police allege she delayed seeking medical treatment for her son for four hours. Both children were taken to Strong Memorial Hospital. A'mias died there on Jan. 24. His sister was treated for her injuries and was placed with her grandmother.

Love was represented by assistant public defender Gregory Lebens-Higgins who entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf. Rochester City Court Judge Maija Dixon ordered Love to be held in the Monroe County Jail without bail pending a preliminary hearing on Jan. 31. Dixon also issued an order of protection barring Love from contacting the surviving victim, her daughter. Assistant District Attorney Sara VanStrydonck said the case would be presented to a grand jury.

In court, VanStrydonck said that Love had made statements to police at her apartment when they responded to her 911 call last week, as well as during subsequent interviews at both the hospital and the city's Public Safety Building. Body-worn camera footage from the initial police response was also turned over to Love's defense attorney during the court proceedings.

Tammy Love-Murphy, a cousin of the accused, said that the outbursts in court were a reflection of the pain that family members were feeling.

"I think that was really disrespectful and the way she represented herself," Love-Murphy said. "I think that she really doesn't care, from what I see. I mean her baby's not even buried yet and she screamed out like that."

Love-Murphy said family members don't know how the situation escalated to the point where such brutal abuse occurred.

"I don't think she's a baby killer. I think she just wasn't in her right mind," Love-Murphy said. "I don't think she meant to harm her baby. She loves her kids. Mistakes do happen."

Outside of court, VanStrdonck told reporters that tensions often run high in court for cases where the victim and the accused are members of the same family. More often than not, she said, a child who has been victimized has been hurt by somebody they know, love, or trust. That's the nature of child abuse.

"I think you can certainly imagine that for family members of the child here this is an incredibly emotional experience," VanStrydonck said. "I think that's what you're seeing, raw emotions playing out in court. This is real life, it's not like what you see on TV."

VanStrydonck said that Love was charged with murder under a depraved indifference theory.

"It's hard to prove that somebody wanted to have a child die," VanStrydonck said. "However, based on their actions or inactions, or a combination of both, the allegations are that [Love] didn't care whether the child suffered the grievous harm that they did suffer."

VanStrydonck said the evidence led investigators to conclude that Love was alone with her children and was the only person who could have caused these injuries.

"It's unfortunate, It's tragic, and it's 100 percent preventable, and if it's not making the community angry, then they're not listening," VanStrydonck said.

Contact reporter Sean Lahman at slahman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @seanlahman. 

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bryasia Love indicted in death of son