TOLEDO, Ohio — The mother and grandmother of Braylen Noble avoided jail time Monday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
Dajnae Cox, Braylen's mother, was sentenced to two years of probation. Bobbie Johnson, Braylen's grandmother, received one year of probation.
Braylen was found dead in a Toledo apartment complex swimming pool in September 2020. He was 3 years old.
Cox and Johnson originally reported the child missing, saying he fell from a third-story window. His body was found in the pool five days later. The coroner's report confirmed Braylen's submersion in water was a contributing factor in his death, but the circumstances surrounding his death were ruled inconclusive.
Johnson was first to appear in front of Judge Ian English on Monday. Her attorney Kurt Bruderly told the court that this is her first time in trouble with the law and that she has held a steady job, calling her a model citizen. He argued that her obstruction of justice charge did not contribute to Braylen's death.
Bruderly asked for a probationary sentence for Johnson, which is what she ultimately received.
"This has been a long process and our family has grieved, we're still grieving," Johnson said. "It's going to take a long time to get over, we'll probably never get over it."
After Johnson spoke, English said that the case was pending for so long because the court needed to investigate all of the allegations that came in. "The sentence will fit the obstructing justice crime," English said.
Dajnae Cox was up next.
In court, Cox's attorney said that Braylen got out of the house and into the pool, which is where his body was found.
"The dispute from her statement is that she was trying to extrapolate how it was possible for the child to escape the house," English said. "And from the state's perspective, they believe that she was denying the fact that there was some type of accidental event in locking the door and preventing this child from escaping."
Cox's attorney added that it was a negligent act and that Cox has PTSD from it.
"He was my pride and joy and now we don't have him anymore," Cox said. "I would never ever do anything intentionally to hurt him."
The prosecutor then told the court the investigation into Braylen's disappearance was complicated by Cox's refusal to take responsibility for her actions.
"The reason for the investigation as a homicide is because this woman [Cox] lied, simply for the reason she didn't want to take responsibility that the child got out of the house on her watch and died and it was her fault, and she exacerbated the situation by coming up with a preposterous story about what happened," prosecuting attorney John Weglian said.
Cox's attorney asked for that she be sentenced to community control, which is similar to probation.
"Here's the bottom line: it's not easy to supervise a child or adult," English said during Cox's sentencing. "We cannot as a society start jailing parents who suffer the accidental death of children."
English sentenced Cox to community control for two years. She is required to hold a job, work towards her GED and be screened for counseling for her mental health.
"This was accidental and our society needs to know that you have two grieving women and a grieving family here because of an accident," Bruderly said. "So I know everyone wants justice for Braylen and where that is a fantastic idea, it's really hard to get justice when it's an accident."
In September, Johnson pleaded guilty to obstructing justice. Cox entered an Alford plea to attempted child endangering and obstructing justice.
An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but an admission that evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict if brought to trial.
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