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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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This woman had 6 children and was 23. Wow. Probably 15 or 16 with her first. Jeesh. Not able to handle it.
Oh wow..that's disturbing! What the h€ll would possess someone to do this? To a poor innocent kid no less. This is quite sad and very disturbing.
Very disturbing.
This account makes us almost numb, beyond tears or anger, sickened. Remembering. That kind of person gets more deadly. 99 years probably stopped murders from happening. That defenseless little child.
Women in prison. Give her a welcoming that she won't forget. End of story.
Maybe a little something in paper mache' class?
This is not justice but revenge by the judge. No human being is pure evil, I'm sure after 1 year in jail she will start to regret her actions. After all, this is her flesh and blood. She is young, stupid , angry and low in self confidence to handle situations where patience is required the most. The job to parents is to educate, sometimes it's tough when it did not reach the desire result.There must be a reason; tight on money ,alcohol or drugs abused or past abused in her family that shaped her upbringing. She need to be corrected and release at the suitable time for the remaining years of her life. 99 years is hardly a correction but a death sentence.
Who cares? She is not deservant of anything (mainly kids). She should really rot in jail in Mehico instead of the U.S. taking care of one useless "person"...Let her bleed. As Ron White says, "If you come to Texas and kill, we will kill you back" Amen!
Who cares what the reason is. Its best for somebody like this to be behind bars for the rest of her life. If you let her off early, she won't learn a thing and just do it again. How you can say after what she did to an innocent child is just crazy. She is where she belongs, and 99 years isn't revenge, its putting an animal away that doesn't deserve to be in society.
I agree
No one is pure evil? Wow...........you dont get out much do you. She wouldnt learn anything in prison in a year except maybe a few ideas on how not to get caught.........I dont believe she should get a second chance either, next time she could have killed the child. It doesnt matter.........she will not be hurting any more children, well, any more than the scars she has already left on her current children.........I personally believe the death penalty is justified if you are harming children. Pure Evil to beat a baby.
kahsimana, I'm not sure your'e for real, but if you are: the priority here is the safety of the children – one of whom may suffer from brain damage for the rest of her life.
One day all of the people that are nagging you for saying she deserves a chance to get some help will be asking God why they do not receive a second chance, and he will remind them of the day they made these posts denying someone else a second chance. What she did was terrible, but i truly believe she has some type of emotional overload or got overstressed and could not handle it. Thanks for posting and may God bless you in your life.
Really, 23 with 5 kids? How did INS overlook this one? Go back to Mehico and do this to your drug dealers!
Oh, I get it, you're a racist. I'm sure hating people based on their ethnicity is what God would have wanted anyway "pastor".
I think you need to pass a test to be a parent and to vote.
You nailed that one!
I had Americans from all colors fighting by my side you ignorant, maybe its time you take a step outside hick town and see what color are the people that serve this country and what color are the people that die for this country to protect your freedom yes even your worthless one, its a shame to know that air wasting people like you still exist.
Bring back public hanging. Sunday shootings in the park. I'm sorry but some people don't need to live.
99years??? Thats more than Sandursky (how ever you spell is his name) got. Theres been more hardened criminals that get less time than that
It's true Sandusky got less time, but then again, he wasn't tried in Texas.
How exactly does a woman convicted of gluing and beating her child get 99 years when ANY child molester is ever allowed to walk free regardless of the time served in prison ? I am not saying she didn't deserve it, she did. I am saying we in this country are way to lenient on crimes against children. If this woman got 99 years a child molester should automatically get double that as a mandatory sentence. No crimes against children should be tolerated.
She was offered a 45 year plea deal and she said no, well she got what she deserved.
This welfare trash Obama supporter got what she deserves, it should have been a life sentence though imo. 😉
Can you so called intelligent folk not blame everything on Obama? Real people own their own faults, they do not blame others, Why give this thing 99 years as she won't live that long and now she gets 3 meals a day plus free medical and dental .... according to your logic she deserves that.
Racist much ? What exactly makes her an Obama supporter ? I agree she got what she deserves but there is no need to label people that YOU know nothing about. There are plenty of horrible crimes committed by Romney supporters everyday. Your comment reflects very poorly on your candidate. As does that fact he is also supported by the KKK, NRA and the Arian Nation. We get it already.... And you think this kind of hate is going to lead to a better America. Yea because no one other that poor people of color commit crimes. Wake UP !!
Farrah it sounds like you are just hating on Escalona because she supports obama and is on welfare, youre the trash why dont you stick to the fact that she beat her child you idiot , what are you going to say next that her lip piercing makes her deserve it to? wow your a ignorant girl try not to get lost when you walk outside. trash.
This woman is 23 and already has five kids???? She need to be spayed! What a disgusting person.