FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Hartford, CT) - Sharmese L. Walcott, Hartford State’s Attorney, announced today that on September 29, 2022, Edwin Babilonia, age 28, of Hartford, was found guilty of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53a-56(a)(1), and Risk of Injury to a Minor, in violation of Connecticut General Statutes § 53-21(a)(1). The jury trial was presided over by the Honorable Judge Frank M. D’Addabbo, Jr. Following pronouncement of the verdict, Babilonia was taken into custody by Judicial Marshals after his bond was set at $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled before Judge D’Addabbo on December 9, 2022.
Babilonia’s conviction stems from the death of his 7-week-old daughter, Emily Babilonia, in Hartford in May 2018. According to trial testimony, during the early morning hours of May 24, 2018, Emily woke up and was crying incessantly. Babilonia and Ashley Perez-Rivera, the baby’s mother, took turns trying to console Emily. Babilonia then took the baby into the bathroom, where he attempted to console her, but recklessly shook Emily, causing a massive brain bleed and spinal cord injury. Later that morning, Babilonia and Perez-Rivera brought the baby to the hospital where her injuries were evaluated by physicians and a Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Emily passed away due to her injuries on May 28, 2018. Both Babilonia and Perez-Rivera were interviewed and arrested for their involvement in the death of their daughter. Perez-Rivera has pleaded guilty in Superior Court to charges of Risk of Injury and Criminally Negligent Homicide for her role in the death of her daughter.
State’s Attorney Walcott thanked the Hartford Police Department for their investigative efforts and commended the work of Assistant State’s Attorney Emily D. Trudeau who prosecuted the case with State’s Attorney Walcott. Additionally, State’s Attorney Walcott thanked Inspector Carlos Ocasio and Paralegal Specialist Kelly De La Cruz for their assistance in the investigation.