DEKALB FATHER, HIS GIRLFRIEND SENTENCED TO DECADES IN PRISON FOR BEATING DEATH OF FIVE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER

State v. Unchinna Myrick

State v. Cedric O'Neal Herring

Decatur, Ga.- DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announces convictions in the cases against a Decatur father and his girlfriend charged with beating his daughter to death.

On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Unchinna Myrick, 28, pleaded guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter and two counts of Cruelty to Children in the First Degree in connection with the death of Janiyah Herring, 5, on May 29, 2021.

On September 13, 2024, jurors found Cedric O'Neal Herring, now 30, guilty of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, and two counts of Cruelty to Children in the First Degree.

According to the investigation, Defendant Herring carried Janiyah into the emergency room at Emory Decatur Hospital and told the nurse at the front desk they had been in a multi-vehicle car accident. He claimed his daughter was knocked unconscious in the crash and had not woken up. The nurse immediately realized Janiyah was not breathing and rushed her to a room for treatment. A team of medical professionals worked for an hour to revive Janiyah, but they were not successful.

A doctor at the hospital conducted a physical examination of Janiyah and discovered most of the girl's body was covered in bruises and wounds consistent with child abuse. Hospital staff notified the DeKalb County Police Department (DKPD), the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), and the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office.

DKPD officers interviewed Defendant Herring, who gave them more details about the alleged car accident, but investigators found no record of the accident, nor the vehicle Herring claimed he was driving at the time of the crash. When officers asked Defendant Herring about Janiyah's injuries, he admitted that he sometimes used a belt to hit his children when they misbehaved.

An autopsy performed by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office revealed Janiyah died of blunt force trauma and the manner of her death was homicide.

Investigators interviewed Defendant Herring's surviving children who told them Janiyah had refused to help clean up the house on the day of her death, so Herring's girlfriend, Co-Defendant Unchinna Myrick, whipped Janiyah with a cord. When the girl tried to get away from her, Defendant Myrick tied her to a bed and continued to beat her. Eventually, Defendant Myrick released Janiyah and the girl fell to the floor.

Defendant Herring came into the room and yelled at his daughter to get up, when she did not, he also beat her. Herring realized something was wrong and tried to revive Janiyah with an ice bath before taking her to the hospital.

On October 15, 2024, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Nora Polk, who presided over Herring's trial, sentenced Defendant Herring to Life in prison. Following Defendant Myrick's guilty plea on March 19, 2025, Judge Polk sentenced Myrick to 50 years to serve 30 in custody with the balance on probation.

The case, assigned to the Child Crimes Unit, was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Sarah Hilleren, Senior Assistant District Attorney Hannah Pendergast, District Attorney Investigator Kendall Ham and Victim Advocate Jenaiya Coleman. DeKalb County Police Department Detectives Kearney and Fowler lead the initial investigation.