Jury: Man guilty in baby's death

A jury on Tuesday found a Greenville man guilty in the death of an 11-week-old baby boy.

Judge Edward Miller sentenced Tarran Marteious Edwards to 30 years in prison on the charge of homicide by child abuse in the death of Syre Parks in 2013.

"I didn't do it," Edwards told the court during his sentencing hearing. "I wouldn't harm a child."

Edwards, as he was leaving the courtroom in handcuffs, told his family that he loved them and he planned to appeal.

Doctors testified Tuesday that Syre died of a non-accidental head injury and suffered injuries to his brain, spine, neck and eyes. The injuries were consistent with shaken baby syndrome.

Edwards may have "snapped" when he couldn't get the baby to stop crying, Assistant Solicitor Leigh Paoletti said during her closing argument at the two-day trial.

Edwards and his fiancee, Tangela Kennedy, were babysitting Syre, her godson, for the weekend in November 2013. One evening, Kennedy started experiencing stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, she testified. Later that night, Edwards took her to the hospital and returned to their residence with Syre alone, Kennedy said.

About 30 minutes later, Edwards called Kennedy to say the baby wasn't moving or breathing when he tried to change his diaper, she said. He called 911 after taking Syre back to his mother.

Three doctors who treated Syre testified Tuesday morning about his injuries. When Syre was brought to Greenville Memorial Hospital, he had bleeding and swelling on the brain, Dr. Michael Avant said. Syre had no brain activity while being treated in the pediatric ICU.

"It was obvious right from the beginning that he had a devastating injury to his brain," Avant said.

Syre also had 12-14 hemorrhages in the right eye and three or four hemorrhages in the left eye, said Dr. Anthony Johnson, a pediatric ophthalmologist. The presence of any hemorrhage is abnormal, he said.

Syre also suffered neck and spine injuries, said Dr. Michael Ward, a forensic pathologist. Those kinds of injuries happen when a baby is shaken forcefully and violently, Ward said.

Edwards had no motive in the case, his attorney, Amanda Wicker, said during her closing argument Tuesday afternoon. Wicker also said no evidence was presented that stated exactly when the injuries occurred. Edwards chose not to take the stand in his defense.

"He can't tell anyone what happened because he doesn't know what happened," Wicker said.

Paoletti said the state does not need to prove a motive and that expert testimony proved the injuries occurred shortly before Syre's admission to the hospital.

"What happened is not a mystery in this case," Paoletti said.

Staff writer Romando Dixson covers crime for The Greenville News. Follow his stories through the Facebook page, Romando The Reporter.