A Hinesville man was sentenced Monday for his role in the 2023 death of six-year-old Aniyah Perry, whose body was found motionless in a bedroom of a Saunders Avenue apartment after her mother's boyfriend and the child's mother both eventually faced charges in the case. Brandon Robinson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder among other charges tied to Aniyah's death, closing out a case that has stretched on for more than three years.
According to WTOC, a judge sentenced Robinson to 40 years, with 20 years to serve in prison followed by 20 years of probation. Robinson was the boyfriend of Shelly Lynn Perry at the time of her daughter Aniyah's death, and his case was ultimately separated from hers as it moved through Liberty County Superior Court.
The Day Aniyah Died
Hinesville police officers responded to a Saunders Avenue address on May 1, 2023, on a call for an unresponsive child, according to coastalcourier.com. An officer found the six-year-old motionless in a bedroom, her face already turned blue, and she did not appear to be breathing. Perry told officers she had checked on Aniyah every 30 to 45 minutes after the child went down for a nap around 5 p.m., and that she was unable to wake her shortly after 8:30 p.m., at which point she called 911.
Investigators who searched the home afterward found it had little to no food, with only macaroni and cheese in the cabinet and bugs crawling out of the microwave, per the incident report and WTOC's reporting. Those conditions became central to the case built against both Robinson and Perry in the months that followed.
Perry's Plea and a Pending Challenge
Shelly Lynn Perry, Aniyah's mother, was also charged in connection with her daughter's death. The station's report states she pleaded guilty to nine charges on March 11, 2026, including felony murder, two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, two counts of false statements and writings, one count of cruelty to children in the second degree, tampering with evidence, and concealing the death of another. A separate account from coastalcourier.com puts the number at 11 charges rather than nine — a discrepancy that has not been reconciled in available reporting.
Perry is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years, per the same account. She has since filed a motion seeking to withdraw her guilty plea, saying she was abandoned by her counsel immediately after sentencing and claiming the plea itself was coerced. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for October 26, though the outcome remains unresolved.
Earlier Scrutiny of the Child-Welfare System
Robinson's attorney maintained his client's innocence as recently as March 2026, before the guilty plea was ultimately entered. The case had already drawn scrutiny well before this month's sentencing: WTOC's earlier reporting noted that a judge ordered a Georgia Division of Family and Children Services case involving the family closed in December 2021, after Perry had completed parenting classes and counseling.
