Former Virginia School Administrator Goes on Trial for Child Neglect

Jury selection began Monday in Newport News, Virginia, for the criminal trial of former Richneck Elementary School vice principal Ebony Parker. She faces eight counts of child neglect after a first-grade student shot teacher Abby Zwerner on January 6, 2023.

Parker, who previously lost a $10 million civil verdict to Zwerner, could receive up to five years in prison on each count if convicted. The charges correspond to the eight bullets in the 9mm handgun the student brought to school.

Zwerner is expected to testify, possibly as early as Tuesday, according to her lawyers. She has said she believed she was dying after being shot in the chest and still carries bullet fragments. Zwerner had sued Parker for $40 million, alleging Parker received reports that day about the student possibly having a gun but did not order a search. A jury awarded her $10 million in November.

The student's mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced in 2023 to two years in prison on state child neglect charges and 21 months in a federal weapons case. The student faces no criminal or civil liability. Parker has pleaded not guilty. Her civil lawyers argued that multiple staff members shared responsibility and that the outcome could not have been foreseen.