Man faces murder charge related to Radford 2-year-old’s death

RADFORD, Va – A Radford man has been charged with murder nearly five months after the death of a 2-year-old child earlier this year.

A grand jury indicted Andrew Byrd on a first-degree murder charge as well as charges for aggravated and malicious wounding and preventing someone from calling 911.

Byrd was arrested in April and charged with abduction, strangulation as well as assault and battery of a household member. He faces 13 felony charges in total.

The child’s mother Amanda Mitchell has also been indicted and faces six child abuse charges.

Sergeant Emily Hite with the Radford City Police Department said this has not been an easy case for investigators, but the new charges help bring justice for the child’s family.

“The family has been obviously cooperating with and we have been working with them and this will provide some closure to the family and the community as a whole to wrap their heads around what has happened,” said Hite.

Both Byrd and Mitchell have their next court appearances in Radford on October 5.


About the Author

Annie Schroeder joined the 10 News team as a reporter in June 2020 and is no stranger to Southwest Virginia.