SAN DIEGO — A preliminary hearing was held Tuesday for a young couple from City Heights charged with murdering their 3-month-old daughter.
Witnesses testified baby Delilah died from malnutrition and neglect.
Family members said they tried to intervene almost from when the baby was born.
Annie Chapman was the first to take the witness stand in the hearing for her niece, Elizabeth Ucman, and her husband, Brandon Copeland.
Both defendants are in their 20s, and both are charged with murder in the death of an infant.
“My biggest concern was they couldn't even keep a dog alive for three months. And I felt there was no way they'd be able to keep a human alive,” Chapman testified.
Chapman said her niece didn't know she was pregnant with Delilah until she entered labor.
She testified the apartment the couple lived in was trashed and unhealthy. Chapman said the entire family tried to intervene, including calling child welfare services multiple times.
“I don't know of any family member that wasn't pushing for adoption. And all of us collectively agreed that adoption would be best for this baby,” Chapman testified.
In November 2021, San Diego police officers were called to the apartment on Maple Street in City Heights and found Delilah on the floor.
“She didn't respond. As she looked like a toy, she didn't have any weight. She just felt like a prop,” SDPD officer Jose Rodriguez testified.
Officers performed CPR and rushed the child to the hospital, but she could not be saved.
The emergency room doctor told an SDPD detective his opinion about the child’s cause of death.
“He told me she had appeared malnourished, dehydrated, too anemic to survive. No fat. He said that he didn't believe she was injured or abused but believed she had been neglected,” Detective Destiny Jones testified.
On cross-examination, defense attorneys indicated the young mother suffered from mental illness, and the couple was previously homeless.
If convicted of murder, the mother and father face 25 years to life in prison.
Testimony will continue Wednesday morning. After the preliminary hearing, the judge will decide if there's enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
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