A Greensboro mother and grandmother are facing second-degree murder charges more than a year after a 9-month-old girl was found unresponsive in an apartment on Hilltop Road and later pronounced dead at the scene. Desiree Anne Blackburn, 34, the infant's mother, was booked into Guilford County custody on Tuesday, days after her mother, Kerry Ann Blackburn, was arrested on the same warrant.
According to a news release from the Greensboro Police Department, officers, Greensboro Fire personnel, and Guilford County EMS responded to the 5200 block of Hilltop Road on June 18, 2025, after a report of an unresponsive infant. The girl was pronounced dead at the scene. Kerry Ann Blackburn, the child's grandmother, was arrested on Aug. 14, 2026, on a warrant for second-degree murder and felony negligent child abuse causing serious bodily injury, police said, while Desiree Anne Blackburn was booked on the same charges on Aug. 18, per the Wilkie Law Group's explanation of how the statute is applied.
A Yearlong Wait for Answers
The gap between the infant's death and the arrests stretched roughly 14 months, a timeline that reflects the Greensboro Police Criminal Investigations Division's reliance on finalized findings from the Medical Examiner's Office before seeking murder warrants, according to GoPerson's account of the investigation. Police said the division conducted a thorough investigation before securing the charges. The department also noted that Medical Examiner's Office reports in the case are confidential and unavailable for public release, citing state law.
That confidentiality traces to North Carolina Session Law 2025-70, which amended N.C.G.S. § 130A-385 to shield medical examiner investigation files involving deaths under criminal investigation or involving children under 18, per the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The updated standard is why Greensboro Police have not released autopsy findings publicly even as the case moves forward.
Specialized Unit Made the Grandmother's Arrest
Kerry Ann Blackburn was arrested without incident by the department's Violent Criminal Apprehension Team, known as VCAT, a specialized unit tasked with locating and apprehending fugitives wanted for violent felonies including murder, rape, and armed robbery, the City of Greensboro says of the unit's mission. Desiree Anne Blackburn was later booked into Guilford County Sheriff's Office custody on the same second-degree murder and child abuse warrants.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under N.C.G.S. § 14-17, second-degree murder is classified as a Class B1 or Class B2 felony, carrying potential active prison sentences ranging from 94 months to more than 393 months depending on the defendant's prior record, according to the Wilkie Law Group. The statute requires prosecutors to show malice without premeditation, a lower bar than first-degree murder but still a serious felony exposure for both defendants.
The felony negligent child abuse charge falls under N.C.G.S. § 14-318.4, which distinguishes between intentional child abuse causing serious bodily injury, a Class B2 felony, and a grossly negligent omission demonstrating reckless disregard for human life that causes serious bodily injury, a Class E felony, per the North Carolina General Assembly. Proving serious bodily injury under state standards requires showing physical injury causing great pain and suffering, serious mental injury, or protracted impairment of bodily functions, according to Kurtz & Blum Attorneys At Law. It remains unclear from available records which version of the child abuse charge each woman faces.
Whatever the outcome, sentencing would ultimately hinge on North Carolina's Structured Sentencing Grid, which sorts felony offenders across six Prior Record Levels that determine whether active prison time, intermediate punishment, or probation is legally required upon conviction, per King & Rowe Attorneys at Law. Both women remain accused, and no trial dates or plea outcomes have been reported.
Broader Review Process for Child Deaths
Cases like this one also typically fall under North Carolina's child welfare statutes, including General Statute § 7B-301, which established local multi-disciplinary child fatality prevention teams in counties such as Guilford to review deaths involving suspected abuse or neglect and evaluate agency responses. The dossier does not indicate whether such a review has taken place in this case.
The Blackburn case adds to a string of violent crime investigations Greensboro Police have pursued in the past year, including the mother found dead case from July 2025 and the department's 17th homicide arrest of 2025 in June of that year. Both women are currently accused, not convicted, and the investigation remains active as the case moves through the Guilford County court system.
