BK Man Fatally Injured Girlfriend’s Baby, Gets Sent To Prison: DA

BROOKLYN, NY —A Bed-Stuy man has been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for fatally injuring his girlfriend’s four-month-old daughter back in 2021, prosecutors announced.

Ricardo Price, 26, was sentenced Friday in Brooklyn Federal Court by Court Justice Donald Leo. He pled guilty to second-degree manslaughter in April, prosecutors said.

On June 22, 2021, four-month-old Royalty Kemp was left in the care of Price by her mother, prosecutors said.

Kemp was sitting in Price’s lap, and began to cry. Price repeatedly shook his leg to get her to quiet down, causing the child to bounce off his knee multiple times and resulting in Kemp to strike a video game controller that was in Price's hand, prosecutors said.

When Kemp's mother returned for her the next day, she noticed the baby was lethargic and unable to eat. Later that afternoon, the baby became unresponsive, prosecutors said.

The mother and Price brought the baby to Woodhull Medical Center, where doctors diagnosed a skull fracture. The child was transferred to Bellevue Hospital, where she died on July 2, 2021, prosecutors said.

"Royalty Kemp was a precious infant entrusted by her mother to the defendant’s care. Instead of ensuring the child’s safety, he caused head injuries so severe she died. With today’s sentence, the defendant has been held responsible for his horrific actions. Our hearts continue to be with the child’s mother and loved ones as they grieve her tragic loss," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

An autopsy performed by the city's medical examiner determined the child’s cause of death was from abusive head trauma with numerous recent injuries including skull fractures with underlying hemorrhaging to the brain as well as hemorrhaging to parts of the spinal cord, prosecutors said.