2 plead guilty to perjury in girl's death

Two women pleaded guilty yesterday to lying to a grand jury about the condition of Danieal Kelly, the 14-year-old with cerebral palsy who died of starvation in a fetid West Philadelphia apartment in 2006.

Marie Moses, 35, and Diamond Brantley, 19 - both friends of Danieal's mother, Andrea Kelly - each pleaded guilty before Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner to one count of perjury after waiving their right to a trial.

Lerner said the crime, a third-degree felony, carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

A third friend of Kelly's, Andrea Miles, 18, is being tried on the same charge as a juvenile because of her age at the time of the crime, officials said.

Lerner said defense attorneys had recommended a sentence excluding jail time. He said he would likely sentence Moses and Brantley to a combination of probation, community service, and court costs. He scheduled sentencing for July 2.

Danieal, weighing only 47 pounds, was found dead in her bed in a filthy, sweltering apartment on Memorial Avenue near Viola Street on Aug. 4, 2006.

When the body was found, the girl was gaunt and had maggot-infested bedsores. Her bed was covered with feces as flies buzzed around her.

Assistant District Attorney Edward McCann said Brantley testified on Nov. 16, 2006, that she visited the home on Aug. 3, the day before Danieal's body was found, and that the child "smelled like soap" and smelled "clean and fresh."

McCann said Moses testified the same day that the apartment was clean and that Danieal appeared "healthy" and looked like "her normal self."

McCann said that paramedics and a worker from the Department of Human Services (DHS) noted that the home was in deplorable condition, with dirt, food containers, and piles of dirty clothes strewn about.

He said one paramedic would testify that the apartment was among the filthiest he had seen in 10 years on the job, that the stench was nearly unbearable, and that the home was unfit for human habitation.

McCann said that Danieal's brother Daniel, then 14, would testify that, a day before the body was found, he told Andrea Kelly that Danieal was looking ill.

Daniel would also say the girl was pale and her lips were turning purple, McCann said. The teen would also say that he tried to give Danieal a glass of water but that she could not move, and that he told his mother she should call police.

Andrea Kelly pleaded guilty April 29 to third-degree murder and child endangerment, and Lerner sentenced her to 20 to 40 years in prison. Kelly's nine remaining children are in DHS custody.

Five other people are facing trial in the case. Danieal's father, Daniel Kelly, is charged with endangering the welfare of children.

DHS workers Dana Poindexter and Laura Sommerer are charged with endangering the welfare of a child and recklessly endangering another person.

Julius Juma Murray and Mickal Kumavaka, two workers for MultiEthnic Behavior Health Inc., a private agency, who were assigned to see that Danieal was safe and receiving needed services, are charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.

McCann said Moses and Brantley were "obviously, clearly covering up for Andrea; they were her friends." He said their testimony before the grand jury was "clearly at odds with reality."