Kristen Graham is serving a 10-year sentence after leaving 11-month-old Myrical Wicker in a hot car in York County in 2023.
An investigation into the child's death found systemic failures by local social services agencies may have contributed to the teenage mother not getting enough help before the tragedy happened.
Myrical's mother, Arianna Wicker, was just 17 years old at the time of her daughter's death. She said she was not in a stable living situation and struggling to care for a newborn with little support.
"She had the most beautiful blue eyes. She was always smiling, always smiling and laughing," Wicker said.
With few resources, Wicker relied on Graham and others to watch Myrical at times — sometimes for several days.
On Sept. 12, 2023, Graham arrived at her home in York County with Myrical and a dog in the car. She rolled up the windows and went inside her apartment, leaving them for hours.
York-Poquoson Sheriff Ron Montgomery held a press conference the day after the tragedy and said, "Ms. Graham arrived back at her residence on Seaford Road somewhere around 8:30 a.m. and the child would have been in the vehicle between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., along with the dog."
The baby and the dog did not survive. Myrical was then taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News in a black trash bag by an 80-year-old man. He did not face any charges.
Body camera video obtained by the WTKR News 3 Investigative Team shows deputies arriving on scene and questioning Graham.
Video used as evidence in the trial shows Graham getting out of the car. In the body camera footage, Graham can be heard saying, "it was an accident, I mean, I loved her."
Court records reveal Graham told investigators she had taken Gabapentin — a medication that treats seizures and nerve pain — and said she had no memory of anything after parking the car. Graham later pleaded guilty and is now serving a 10-year sentence.
Under state law, The Office of the Children’s Ombudsman can investigate child fatality cases when there are concerns about child abuse or neglect, and when the family has had prior involvement with child protective services or foster care.
In FY2025, their office received 49 notifications of such child fatalities and that number has now jumped to 64 in 2026.
The Office of the Children’s Ombudsman investigated Myrical’s case after her death.
They found jurisdictional confusion and a lack of cooperation between the two local departments of social services resulted in the child being left in unsafe conditions and at great risk for future maltreatment.
They also found that decisions by both agencies to invalidate previous CPS reports and the decision not to elevate the case to a higher level of assessment were made without adequate reasons given the increased vulnerability of the child and her minor mother.
The Executive Director of the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman Eric Reynolds says across the state – the laws should be more defined on how CPS cases are handled, when they need to be elevated to an investigation and how different jurisdictions should work together. He would also like to see more state oversight.
"We’ve got to have a higher level of urgency, regardless of who has jurisdiction; somebody has to do it, someone has to take responsibility and when we have laws that allow these agencies to say, ‘not my case’. These cases are going to continue to slip through the cracks and we’re going to see more kids being put into unsafe situations,” said Reynolds.
He said across Virginia the juridical conflicts between local departments of social services are resulting in children being left in very unsafe situations and in two recent cases - they have reviewed - those unsafe situations led to the children's deaths.
“We need to make more efforts to make sure that each report of abuse or neglect, alleged abuse or neglect, are taken seriously, especially when you’re dealing with these infants and these babies and these children under the age of three who are vulnerable,” said Reynolds.
Wicker said she struggled to get support because she was underage and lack of having a stable home.
After giving birth, she stayed with a relative in Newport News before being forced to leave.
"Me and him got into it and he told me take my baby and get the hell out of his house and I ended up house hopping for a little bit," Wicker said.
"I had nobody in my circle around me when I had Myrical. Back then I never had a place to call home," Wicker said.
"I didn't have anything but WIC. That was the only … type of benefits from any social service was WIC, which mainly helped out with her formula," Wicker said.
When asked whether she felt she was getting enough support from the system, Wicker said, "No, not at all, but I wasn't getting support from anybody. Nobody in my family."
Chaplain Marie Boyd, through her nonprofit, The Hampton Roads Good Samaritan Fund, said she helped Wicker after Myrical's death. Boyd said she was shocked by the tragedy and frustrated by the response she received when she reached out for help on Wicker's behalf. Wicker was still a minor at the time.
"I came home and cried, because that day when I called from my car to social services, and that lady said, 'well, we can't talk about any specific cases.' I said, 'I'm not asking for specific cases, I'm asking for help.' This girl needs to bury her child. ‘We don't have funds for burial. We don't have funds for any of that’. Okay. Do you have any counselors that this girl can see? We don't have anything like that. It was sad, till this day this girl has been let down by the system from the time she was a little girl," Boyd said.
"I just don't want this to ever happen again. Just breaks my heart," Boyd said.
Montgomery said in a press conference the day after the tragedy that the case resonated deeply with those who responded.
"We have kids ourselves so that really hits home when it's a small child like this and it's so senseless that something like this happens," Montgomery said.
York-Poquoson Social Services provided the following statement:
"York-Poquoson Social Services follows statutory privacy protections by utilizing the 'No Comment' Rule: Our agency cannot verify details, open histories, or ongoing assessments to protect the privacy of surviving family members."
The Newport News Department of Human Services provided the following statement:
"The Newport News Department of Human Services (DHS) recognizes the importance of concerns about child safety and family well-being. Due to the confidential and sensitive nature of Child Protective Services work and the strict confidentiality laws that govern it, the Department cannot discuss or provide details about specific cases. These protections are essential to safeguarding the privacy and rights of the children and families DHS serves. DHS remains committed to protecting children and supporting families with professionalism, compassion, and integrity."
