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Texas mom gets 99 years for gluing toddler to wall, beating her
[Updated at 4:22 p.m. ET] A Texas mother who super-glued her 2-year-old daughter's hands to a wall and beat her over potty training problems was sentenced Friday morning to 99 years in prison, a Dallas County felony records department district clerk said.
Elizabeth Escalona, 23, will be eligible to ask for parole in 30 years. She pleaded guilty in July to a charge of first-degree injury to a child, a crime punishable by anywhere between probation and life in prison.
"This mom was pure evil, and her children are better off without her," prosecutor Eren Price said after a judge delivered Friday's sentence. "Her five kids now have a chance to lead a productive life."
Escalona’s attorney said that the sentence was excessive and that an appeal would be filed, CNN affiliate KTVT reported.
Escalona's daughter Jocelyn Cedillo was less than two months shy of her 3rd birthday in September 2011 when Escalona used a powerful adhesive to glue her hands to a wall and beat her because of potty training troubles, authorities said. Three other children belonging to Escalona, who was pregnant at the time, witnessed the abuse, according to Dallas County district attorney's office spokeswoman Debbie Denmon.
The child urinated on herself during the ordeal, during which she was hit in head and kicked in the groin, among other forms of abuse, Denmon said.
Oefelia Escalona, the defendant's mother, testified during her daughter's sentencing hearing this week that she found the girl and took her to a hospital. Once Jocelyn was there, medical authorities noticed severe bruises to her face and head, as well as a severe brain injury that led to her temporarily being in a coma.
At this week's sentencing hearing, prosecutors showed pictures of Jocelyn's hands and bruised body and forehead.
"The entire picture was very shocking," said Dr. Amy Barton, then a child abuse pediatrician at Children's Medical Center of Dallas, choking back tears on the stand on Monday. "I see a lot of children, and this was one of the most shocking cases that I have seen."
Escalona asked for leniency during her sentencing hearing this week, saying she behaved like a monster but deserved a second chance, KTVT reported. Her mother asked the judge to sentence Elizabeth to probation, according to KTVT.
Price initially offered a plea bargain of 45 years in prison, but Escalona turned it down, the district attorney's office said.
Price said that the judge, after learning more about Escalona during the hearing, was justified in sentencing her to more time.
"Elizabeth Escalona wasn't sorry for what she did to 2-year-old Jocelyn. Elizabeth Escalona felt sorry for herself," Price said. "Those tears on the stand were for her and not for the toddler she tortured."
An attempt to reach Escalona's attorney for comment Friday was not immediately successful.
Before this incident, Escalona had been investigated by Texas Child Protective Services but never arrested or charged, Denmon said.
The child welfare agency put all of her children in foster care after Jocelyn was taken to the hospital. All five of them, including Jocelyn, are now in the custody of their grandmother, Oefelia Escalona.
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Seems to me here is a woman who would benefit from Planned Parenthood and learning something about family planning. If women are not allowed to have control over their own reproductive health there will be more of this abuse to children. But the right wing wants to get the babies born and then once they are here they're on their own.
She gets 99 years, but Jerry Sandusky gets 30 – 60??? Our legal system is so whack...
Different states. If Sandusky was in Texas, he would have gotten more. Both are life sentences for these two "people".
They are both going to die in prison, isn't that the point? Is sentencing Sandusky to 30, 99, or 199 years going to produce a different outcome?
Shes 23 and has 5 kids. She was obviously raised by excellent parents. 99 Years is crazy excessive. This woman obviously has issues to abuse her daughter in such a way. She was pregnant at the time (hormones anyone?). She deserves to be punished for what she did but not to spend the rest of her life in prision. She didn't even kill the kid. Casey Anthony is a free woman!
completely agree MrGreen...too much
Blame it on hormones? Are you kidding me? What planet are you from? She got what she deserved. She nearly beat her kid to death. CA was aquitted, not to mention they're from different states. Get over it, there's no comparison.
I totally agree, even Susan Smith got 25 years for drowning and killing all of her kids. This woman needs to be punished but this is more like a revenge from the judge and it could be the fact that she is Mexican....this is Texas after all.
Whomever you are...how could you write (or feel) such a thing? I can only surmise this was done to you, if not,
Should you ever be a victim of a future crime where you are totally taken advantage of (hurt, beat, or nearly losing your life), may you be reminded of the horrible words you expressed in your posting. SMH
Agreed. Thank you from bringing common sense an correlation to the conversation. Some people will never clearly see anything.
It's WHOEVER you are. Please don't use whom unless you understand how.
*whoever
You call urself a pastor ur a disgrace too god.....how does it feel to know Jesus wasn't white lol.
She was sentenced according to Tezas guidelines. They vaery from state to state. If you don't like the sentencing guidelines, contact you state lawmakers. This w i t c h deserved every year she got.
I think this is atrocious what this woman has done to this child and I feel she got what she deserved. However, I think people need to stop blamingt the grandmother also. Just because Elizabeth was a monster does not mean she was raised to be that way and it doesn't mean she was abused. Since the children were removed from an abuse environment, the are practices in place to ensure the children will not go into another abuse environment. Everyone feels extremely bad about what happened to the children but let's make sure we place the blame where its due.
So why didn't htey execute her? This is Texas, why did htey feel that she derved to live? She is a monster and doen't deserved to see the light of day!!!!!
Uh oh Obama lost another voter.
Because Texas isn't a red state or anything. Nice try, genius.
Wow. This "mother" would have been awarded full exclusive child custody rights in Palm Beach County family court, and IF the father dared object – he'd be sent for a psych eval to address his free speech opinion. TRUE STORY.
Sounds like Texas acts in the best interests of children, unlike FLORI-DUH... lol
The problem with crimes is people don't have a high enough consciousness to realize we have all lived many lives, not just the one we are in. We all must receive our karma for what we do, and if we don't pay in this life, we pay in another. I'm not happy this happened, but no one considers that this little girl may have done this to her own kids in previous lives, and thus had to learn what she was doing to them. In the end none of you remember what you did or what happened to you in other lives, so this girl will go on to greater, happier things than what you can comprehend from your limited perspective. Your limited perspective doesn't even tell you that we are all one, even though science is proving that to be true. So what energy of hate or anger you send to the Mom, gets sent to the little girl too. And for that matter, you send it to yourself. That energy must come back to you, and it may be in the form of a crime as well, or ill health, financial troubles. We all bring to us whatever we get. Let's simply pray for healing for all involved,,,
I have never read such a load of bull as what this person has written. Unbelievable.
Seriously?? Another life?? Its a baby for gods sake. I don't care if she was the spawn of satan in another life, she DID NOT deserve to be beat like an animal. Now karma I believe in as shown in the sentencing that this god awful thing received!
You are an idiot. You are saying that it is okay to torture and/or kill children and animals because they deserve it due to karma from a past life. It never ceases to amaze me how stupid some people are.
Finally a sentance I can agree with! thank you for getting it right...... she IS a freaking monster. My heart hurts for those children.
That woman deserved the sentence she got, good thing is she will die in prison! I hope no one ever visits her especially her kids and family, if they do i hope they give her hell!
All Mexican women should have their legs glued shut. That would solve a bunch of problems. FIVE KIDS at age 21? What a mess.
While this story is sad, it is not unusual in America today. Just as sad are the self-righteous comments many of you have spewed here. What are you doing in your family, in your neighborhood, church or school district to minimize the ignorance that creates stories like this daily? Fanatic, chest pounding keyboard courage will not change laws in our country, will not elect the men and women to make the laws work in our country and it will damn sure not stop those intent on hurting others.
What will help? You. Eradicate your own ignorance and be brave enough to make change in your community.
Please tell me how the child is doing. I want to know if she's okay now. I'm beyond disgusted and upset by this woman's treatmet of an innocent baby! What an unthinkable way to behave toward a child. She will also be held accountable before God for this heinous act!