NEW ORLEANS — A New Orleans mother pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the beating death of her two-year-old son.
Diane Ferrand was originally booked on second-degree murder counts after the crime that happened in April 2022.
According to the family, Diane Ferrand told them she beat the child because he wouldn't put on his socks and had peed in the bed. They say after the beating, Diane Ferrand put him in the bed next to his brother and waited 16 hours to call for help.
Gaylan’s family told WWL Louisiana last year that when he arrived at the hospital on April 28, he had multiple lacerations on his head, missing nails, burn marks all over his body, and multiple bruises.
“I don’t understand what made you do this to this innocent baby,” said Tatyana Washington, Gaylan’s aunt.
Gaylan’s father, Malik Washington, says he feels like he let his son down.
“All I could do was cry,” he said. “I basically felt like I failed him as a father because I wasn’t there to protect him.”
The family says Malik Washington had made several attempts to get Gaylan away from his mother, including the day before he died.
Ferrand will be sentenced in February. She faces up to 40 years in prison.