4-Year-Old Burned, Tortured by Mother and Boyfriend

January 12, 2018

• The Case of Gabrielle Barrett, 4 years old
• Suspects Brad Fields, Candice Diaz

Sumpter Township, MI – Brad Fields, 28 was sentenced to life in prison after a jury convicted him of felony murder in the death of 4-year-old Gabrielle “Gabby” Barrett, who was found dead inside the Sumpter Township, Michigan, mobile home she shared with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.

Fields, and the child’s mother, Candice Diaz, 25, were charged in connection with Gabby’s death after police found the child unresponsive inside their home on New Year’s Day 2018. The couple faced charges including felony murder, second-degree murder, first-degree child abuse, and torture. Fields was also charged as a habitual offender.

Police were called to the family’s home inside the Rawsonville Woods Mobile Home Community on Jan. 1, 2018, after receiving a report of a 4-year-old child who was unresponsive. When officers arrived, they found family members attempting to perform CPR on Gabby, who had suffered severe injuries. She was transported to Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The Washtenaw County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Gabby’s death a homicide. Investigators said an autopsy revealed multiple traumatic injuries and signs of Battered Child Syndrome, including injuries that occurred over different periods of time.

According to police documents, Diaz told investigators that on Dec. 31, 2017, Gabby had filled her own bath and accidentally made the water too hot, causing burns to her skin. Diaz said she did not seek medical treatment for her daughter and that Gabby wanted to take another bath the following day.

Police said Diaz told investigators she later filled the bathtub halfway with water and placed Gabby inside before leaving the child alone to make pancakes. When she returned, Diaz said she found her daughter submerged in the water up to her nose. She said she pulled Gabby from the bathtub and the child began vomiting. According to investigators, Diaz said she called Fields to the bathroom for help and that he attempted CPR before emergency responders arrived.

Investigators said evidence recovered from the home contradicted the couple’s account. Police found evidence of severe abuse, including burns and other traumatic injuries. Authorities said a medical examination determined that Gabby had been physically abused before her death.

The investigation also revealed a history of police involvement at the home. In May 2016, officers responded to a report of a barricaded gunman following a domestic assault. According to police records, Diaz told officers that Fields had assaulted her, shot her dog, and shot himself during a suicidal outburst before fleeing the residence. Fields was later arrested on domestic violence charges. Diaz pleaded guilty to weapons charges related to firearms found during the incident and received probation.

After Gabby’s death, Fields and Diaz fled Michigan. Authorities said investigators tracked the couple to Lake Park, Georgia, near the Florida state line, after the pair periodically turned on their cell phones, allowing law enforcement to identify their location. The U.S. Marshals Service arrested both suspects on Jan. 9, 2018, while they were traveling in Georgia.

Court documents later revealed that both Diaz and Fields told authorities they had been diagnosed with multiple mental health conditions. Diaz reported diagnoses including bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Fields reported diagnoses including schizoaffective disorder, social anxiety, agoraphobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Documents stated that Fields was not compliant with medication or participating in counseling.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also sought removal of Gabby’s younger half-sister from the home following concerns of improper supervision and physical abuse resulting in a child death. A court ordered that the child remain out of the home and prohibited Diaz and Fields from having contact with her.

During court proceedings, prosecutors presented evidence they said showed Gabby had suffered prolonged abuse before her death. At a preliminary hearing, officers testified about the condition in which they found the child. One officer said he observed signs of severe injuries, including burns and bruising.

The defense argued that both defendants suffered from significant mental health issues. Attorneys for Diaz said she had experienced trauma throughout her own childhood, including physical and emotional scars from a house fire.

During Diaz’s sentencing hearing, the court heard a statement written on behalf of Gabby.

“I don’t ever want to see them happy … they were torturing her, this was not an accident,” the letter read.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans addressed Diaz’s history of trauma but said it did not excuse her actions as a parent.

“Your beautiful daughter Gabby was a sacrifice you gave that bum Brad to fulfill his sick and demonic sense of love and control,” she said. “You and that monster systematically destroyed this beautiful child’s spirit, body, but never her soul. You allowed him to put your child in a garbage bag when she wet herself, to give her drugs. Your response was? Brad beat her ass. What crime could this precious child commit that would cause such severe punishment? None. You were more concerned about feeding Brad the bum than your own child.”

Evans said that in nature, male lions kill cubs that aren’t their own and breed with the female — the logic she said was practiced in their home.

“He, with your aid, killed your child and spared Zoey,” she said, referring to the child Diaz and Fields had together.

Evans said Zoey was never at risk of harm because they wanted to “get rid of the problem, and that was Gabby.” She said on New Year’s Eve, Diaz and Fields sent out cards of them and Zoey.

“Happy New Year! But the person that was missing was Gabby because you knew that Gabby wasn’t going to make it another year,” she said.

Evans said never in her 21 years on the bench had she seen a child sustain injuries inflicted upon Gabby, including The victim also exhibited a spectrum of injuries referred to as battered-child syndrome, second-degree scalding burns at various locations on her body, matted and lice-ridden hair with several contusions to her scalp, malnourishment, some degree of decay or necrosis in all of her teeth, numerous lacerations and other injuries in various stages of healing, and significant bruising, among other injuries. Evans said the ultimate cause of death was septic shock.

“Her little body couldn’t take any more abuse,” Evans said. “And on New Year’s Day she was free. She died at the hands of a bum and an animal.””

During sentencing proceedings, Evans said Gabby had suffered extensive injuries, including burn injuries, tooth decay, hair loss caused by trauma, and ultimately septic shock.

Contrary to defendant’s assertion, defendant was not merely present while Diaz abused and tortured the victim. Rather, Facebook and text messages sent between Diaz and defendant indicated that defendant physically harmed the victim in a number of ways: defendant’s own statements describe how he repeatedly struck the victim, frequently subjected her to cold baths, “shanked” her with a fork, forcefully scratched her back with his nails, hit her in the mouth, and gave her unprescribed Adderall despite the victim having demonstrated possible behavioral side effects from the medication. These messages revealed that defendant frequently discussed with Diaz his desire to subject the victim to more harm, stating that he would hurt the victim badly if she did not stop having toilet-related accidents, drown the victim in his urine if the victim accidentally urinated on him once more, and force the victim to eat her own excrement if she accidentally defecated in her room. In addition to the infliction of physical harm, defendant additionally discussed how he forced her to only wear a garbage bag, took away her pants, removed her bed and bedding, and kept her in a diaper after she had defecated in it.

The court also heard that Diaz and Fields had a younger daughter together, and prosecutors argued that the couple treated Gabby differently from their other child.

“Your response was? Brad beat her ass. What crime could this precious child commit that would cause such severe punishment? None. You were more concerned about feeding Brad the bum than your own child,” Evans said.

The case against Candice Diaz proceeded separately. In December 2018, Diaz has been sentenced to 30-60 years in prison for the torture and murder in connection with her daughter’s death.