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Mother Sent to State Prison After Pleading Guilty in Death of Infant Daughter



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Contact:  Beth Stone- (508) 584-8120

MEDICAL EXAMINER RULED BABY’S DEATH WAS ACUTE OPIATE INTOXICATION

PLYMOUTH – The mother of a five-month-old infant girl who died as a result of
ingesting baby formula laced with heroin, has pleaded guilty to her role in the death, Plymouth
County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced.

Ashley Cyr, 29, formerly of Quincy, pleaded guilty today in Plymouth Superior Court to
one count each of Manslaughter and Reckless Endangerment of a Child. The Commonwealth
requested that Cyr serve 10-12 years in State Prison. Judge Jeffrey Locke sentenced Cyr to serve
6-8 years in State Prison to be followed by five years of Probation. Upon her release, Cyr must
undergo a drug treatment program, remain drug-free, participate in regular drug screening and
complete a parenting program.

Yesterday, Ryan J. Barry (DOB: 03/07/83), pleaded guilty to Manslaughter and was
sentenced to serve 10-12 years in State Prison.

“Baby Mya never stood a chance in life and this outcome is about justice for that little
girl,” DA Cruz said. “Her parents have pleaded guilty to directly contributing to her death and
now have the next several years to think about Mya and how things could have turned out
differently for themselves and their young family.”

On September 23, 2011 at 12:15 p.m., Marshfield Police received a call reporting an
unresponsive child at 11 Castle Green Apt #9. Upon arrival, police found 5-month old Mya
Barry on the living room floor with a neighbor performing CPR on her. The victim was cold to
the touch, not breathing, with her pupils fixed and dilated. She was transported to South Shore
Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 12:51 p.m. Police discovered three grams of heroin
and hypodermic needles on a shelf in the bedroom that the baby shared with Ryan Barry and
Cyr, the baby’s mother, as well as two infant siblings.

In December, 2012, the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the
cause of the baby’s death was acute opiate intoxication and the manner was ruled a homicide.

State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and the Marshfield Police Department recovered a bottle used to feed the victim at the scene. Testing determined that the baby formula in the bottle was positive for opiates, specifically Morphine and a metabolite of Heroin, 6-Acetylmorphine.

On October 10, 2013, a Plymouth County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Ryan Barry with one count of manslaughter and Cyr with one count of manslaughter and one count of reckless endangerment of a child.

The cases were prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jessica Elumba and Mary Nguyen and were investigated by State Police Detectives assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office and the Marshfield Police.

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September 8, 2016