Mother Sentenced To Forty-One Years Incarceration For Felony Murder Of Her 16-Month-Old Daughter

          WASHINGTON – Faneisha Scott, 39, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced October 24, 2025, in D.C. Superior Court, to forty-one years in prison for the murder of her 16-month-old daughter, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

          Scott was found guilty by a Superior Court jury on June 11, 2025 of first-degree cruelty to children, first-degree felony murder with aggravating circumstances, and second-degree cruelty to children for the death of her 16-month-old daughter, Rhythm Fields, in March 2017. 

           According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 2:45 p.m., on March 21, 2017, Scott’s friend, who is the child’s godmother, went over to the defendant’s home in the 5400 block of C Street, SE. While there, the friend’s eight-year-old child asked to play with Rhythm. The defendant then found Rhythm in her playpen, unresponsive, and cold. The defendant went out and flagged down a mail carrier, who called 911 and followed the defendant back to the apartment and observed Rhythm on the couch, lifeless. The child’s body was cold, stiff, and her eyes were fixed. While on the phone with 911, the mail carrier followed the operator’s instructions when two other individuals entered the residence to administer CPR – one was an experienced former firefighter and knew that the child was dead immediately upon seeing her. First responders were surprised to learn that the defendant claimed to have no contact with the child since 9:00 a.m. that morning. The child was pronounced dead. 

           On March 22, 2017, the D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on Rhythm’s remains and ruled on February 5, 2018 that the manner of death was homicide and the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. The blunt force injuries included: (1) contusions and abrasions of the head, neck, torso, and extremities; (2) subdural hemorrhage; (3) cerebral edema, subarachnoid hemorrhage and acute hypoxia-ischemia; (4) retinal and optic nerve sheath hemorrhage; and (5) 23 bilateral rib fractures (there was evidence of both healing and new rib fractures).

           Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department. 

          In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emma McArthur and Andrea Antonelli. 

Editor's Note:
This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.