Starvation Death—Court Says Probation

Interior view of an empty courtroom with wooden furniture and American flags — Photo: Junial Enterprises / Shutterstock

Two Buffalo parents who pleaded guilty in their infant daughter’s starvation death walked out of court with probation, not prison.

Quick Take

Luis Gonzalez Jr. and Kitrina Udrea pleaded guilty in May to second-degree manslaughter in their baby’s death.
A judge sentenced them to five years of probation after they had already served 45 days.
Prosecutors said the child died after weeks of withheld nutrition, and the medical examiner ruled the death homicide by neglect.
The sentence triggered outrage because the reported charge carried far more prison exposure than the punishment they received.

What the Court Decided

Erie County Judge James F. Bargnesi sentenced Gonzalez and Udrea to five years of probation after their guilty pleas, according to local and national reporting. The sentence came after they had already served 45 days in jail, so the court did not add any new prison time.

The case has drawn attention because the reported plea was second-degree manslaughter, which can carry much steeper punishment than probation. Just The News reported that the charge carried a maximum of 15 years in prison, while the judge still imposed probation instead.

How the Baby Died

Prosecutors said the parents acted together and recklessly caused the death of their infant daughter. District Attorney Mike Keane said the crime was not a brief mistake, but the intentional withholding of nutrition for several weeks from their own baby.

ABC3340 reported that the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death a homicide by neglect because of malnutrition and dehydration. Reported coverage also said the child was described in some stories as a baby, infant, or toddler, but the core facts of starvation and death were the same.

Why the Sentence Landed Hard

Judge Bargnesi did not praise the conduct. Just The News reported that he called the actions “absolutely outrageous” and “absolutely inexcusable” while still giving the couple probation. That gap between the judge’s words and the final sentence is what made the case so explosive.

The public reaction also reflects a larger pattern in child-starvation cases. Similar deaths have ended in very different outcomes, from probation to long prison terms, depending on the charge, plea deal, and sentencing record. In other cases, federal and state prosecutors have secured lengthy sentences for parents convicted of starvation-related deaths.

New York parents who pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the starvation death of their infant daughter will not serve any time behind bars. On Thursday, Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi sentenced Luis Gonzalez Jr., 26, and Kitrina Udrea, 23, both of Buffalo, to… pic.twitter.com/gVv2VqrdFw

— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) August 3, 2026

That is why the judge’s identity became part of the headline. The name matters less than the fact that a court accepted a guilty plea for a baby’s starvation death and still chose probation. For many readers, that feels like the legal system drew a line far below their sense of justice.

What the Record Still Does Not Show

The reporting available here does not include the sentencing transcript, the written judgment, or the full plea paperwork. That means the exact mitigation arguments, probation conditions, and any plea negotiations are not visible in this source set.

Even so, the central facts are clear. The parents pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter. The baby died from malnutrition and dehydration. The court imposed five years of probation and no added jail time.