Londyn Gonzalez was born on April 20, 2023, weighing 6 pounds, 8 ounces. She died on July 7, 2023, at 75 days old, weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces. In two and a half months of life, she gained less than two pounds.
She starved to death in a Cheektowaga, New York apartment. Her parents were home the entire time.
Luis Gonzalez Jr., 26, and Kitrina Udrea, 23, both of Buffalo, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter for the death of their infant daughter. The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison per defendant. Erie County Judge James F. Bargnesi sentenced them to 45 days in jail and five years of probation.
Forty-five days. For starving a newborn to death.
Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane didn't mince words. "The cries of their hungry newborn and the advice of medical professionals fell on deaf ears," Keane said. The investigation determined that the couple had missed a pediatric appointment on May 8 — thirty days before Londyn died. The DA's office concluded that "the defendants, while acting in concert with one another, recklessly caused the death of their infant daughter."
The cause of death was malnutrition and dehydration.
Here's where it gets worse, if that's possible. Judge Bargnesi himself called the defendants' conduct "absolutely outrageous" and "absolutely inexcusable" from the bench. Those are his words. He said that, and then handed down just a 45 day sentence.
So the judge who called starving a baby "absolutely outrageous" decided the appropriate punishment was roughly the same as what you'd get for a second DUI in most states. The maximum was 15 years. He had the full range of sentencing at his disposal. He chose six weeks.
The math on this is grim. Londyn Gonzalez lived for 75 days. Her parents will serve 45. They're getting less than a day of jail for every day their daughter spent slowly dying. Five years of probation — checking in with a probation officer periodically — is the rest of the consequence for ending a life that barely got to begin.
DA Keane won his election by 19 points in 2024 and doesn't face voters again until January 1, 2029. He prosecuted the case and secured the guilty plea. The sentencing is on Judge Bargnesi.
Defenders of light sentencing in manslaughter cases like to point out that recklessness isn't the same as intent — that these parents didn't set out to kill their child. Which is technically true in the way that someone who drives 110 miles per hour through a school zone didn't set out to hit anyone. The law already accounted for that distinction. That's why it's manslaughter and not murder. The reduced charge is the concession. The sentence is supposed to be the consequence.
Fifteen years was available. Forty-five days was chosen. Somewhere in that gap is everything wrong with a system that uses the right words and delivers the wrong outcome.
