Parents Convicted of Starving 3-Month-Old Baby to Death Sentenced to Prison

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said today that the parents who starved to death their 3-month-old daughter and who were convicted of second-degree murder by separate juries at a trial in February, have been sentenced to prison.

Brandon Copeland and Elizabeth Ucman each were sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

“Baby Delilah entered this world healthy and full of promise and within three months she died of starvation at the hands of her parents,” DA Stephan said. “Cases that involve parents who harm their babies are haunting and our specialized child abuse prosecutor Franciesca Balerio fought to be the voice for this defenseless baby and to bring a measure of justice and dignity where none existed in her short life. Her parents chose to withhold the care every infant deserves, and because of that, baby Delilah never had the chance to grow or thrive. It’s time the defendants have the time to fully reckon with the consequences of their actions.”

Copeland, 25, and Ucman, 26, were arrested in November 2021 after police responded to their City Heights apartment following a report that their infant was unresponsive and in need of medical attention. Baby Delilah was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, and her parents were taken into custody shortly afterward.

The parents, who were 21 and 22 at the time of Delilah’s death, were tried in February in a single proceeding before two separate juries, with each panel responsible for determining the guilt of one defendant.

During the trial, Deputy District Attorney Franciesca Balerio told jurors that Delilah weighed only 3.64 pounds at the time of her death, less than half her healthy birth weight. With no underlying medical conditions, the evidence showed her death resulted solely from prolonged starvation and neglect. Starvation is slow, visible, and impossible to overlook. Delilah’s decline unfolded in plain sight, yet the defendants sought no help, provided inadequate nutrition, and failed to obtain medical care.