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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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Not me. Hasn't the welfare office cut off your internet yet, troll?
Why the name-calling? Not part of this article.
How about 99 years under the jail. Who could do such a thing??
This being will never be rehabilitated.
Execute the condemned and harvest her organs.
Goodstuff is right.
99 years is too good for this woman...no way in hell she deserves a 2nd chance
That judge is wasting peoples times giving a conviction like that when it's obvious to be overturned and waste more tax payer $$s. Should have given her a fair sentence.
Yep, fair is fair. 1 lead bullet to the brain.
What in the world makes you think the defense will prevail on appeal?? She plead guilty. The sentence range for what she willingly said she did could go all the way to life in prison. Her chances on appeal are even less than usual since she went with a judge sentencing rather than a jury. I live in the city where this happened, and believe me there are a lot more details than in this one article that show she is a horrible human being that needs to be caged for life.
I'm certain you are joking; however I do find it odd that there is so much focus on the glue. This child was beaten in the head to the point having brain injury and coma, and the headlines all talk about the stupid glue. I mean honestly, which is more serious?
The super glue would have torn off the skin on both hands and would also be a terrible injury that could take a long time to heal.
Equally horrible. The idea that a person, let alone the mother, would be so depraved as to use glue to make her choice of beating her child easier is repugnant. It is a significant part of the whole event.
Yes, the beatings, kicking etc. was more serious, but the glue part was an abuse no one has ever heard of before.
The beating and the glue are both barbaric. There focusing on the glue cause its not something that happens everyday or ever and its sick to do it to a 2 yr old. Probably made the beating all that much worse for that poor kid.
Equally serious !!
@Jodi, While you are absolutely right that the brain damage was horrible, people beat each other to death daily in "fits of rage" that they can use as part of the theater of their defense to try to get reduced sentences or counseling. The use of the glue showed premeditation and changed the crime from a beating to torture. Think about this, the lady had to hold the kid to the wall long enough for the glue to set before starting to beat her. That is horror movie stuff.
I agree, Jodi. After reading the article I was surprised at how serious her injuries were because the headlines were so focused on the glue and didn't mention the coma and severity. But, I think it's that aspect that makes it worse, if only because it trapped that poor child where she was.
Yeah really. When I read the headline I thought..well that sentence is a bit excessive. After reading the article I understand why they hit her with so many years. Good riddance
Which gets more hits and attention? News organizations aren't about "serious" they're about $$$ like any other for-profit company.
Absolutely right. It's CNN's way of enflaming the situation by downplaying the mother's culpability. She did so many more things to the child than just the glue and that's where the sentence comes from.
The glue was a strong epoxy who "nailed" the baby to the wall. Have you thought of breaking her away from the wall?
Have you thought that this bxxch was probably enjoying the fact that the little creature couldn't even run away?
I think that such women should not have the right to have more than one child or not at all. I hate dictatorship, but sometimes I think that some people would deserve to try the Chinese system: one kid and that's it.
I had that question, too. My guess is that news organizations pick out the most unusual aspect of a case and continue to use that in the headlines, so it doesn't get mixed up with all the other tragically brutalized kids.
I would offer that the gluing to the wall is a telling point...
I totally agree that beating is WRONG and all by itself is enough but when you see some one go to such deviant areas such as gluing to the wall we can visualize the extreme nature of the crimes...
I cannot believe mental heath of the mom didn't become a mitigation factor (but glad)
At least one person here understands the real issue!!!
Man bites dog. The glue part made the case different. Hundreds, if not thousands are abused in this country everyday. The gluing served to bring this attention to this horror story.
thankyou jody theres a ton of abuse that gose on , my number one thing dont hurt kids anyway. I raised six never beat them my. bet she dont rember becuse of drug she took probly not legail . i dont feel for her next time she migth forget or kill her as fsar as im concered attemped murder . she desreves what sahe got the baby looks hurt . if they dont want there kids they could take them to childern sevices .
Jodi: exactly and I think that's why some people think the punishment is excessive. They didn't read the articles and see that she beat that little girl into a brain damaged coma.
Honestly? The glue.
Why? Because it is human nature to react with a quick swat if you are frustrated – people react to frustration with physical expressions. The glue requires a level of planning and effort that isn’t necessary if all you want is to make a quick physical point and move on. In other words she wasn’t just a frustrated mother, she had made deliberate plans to torture her child and in order to do that she realized that some form of sustained restraint was necessary. So she went about applying glue to her child’s hands, holding those hands to the wall until the glue set, etc. This wasn’t an overwhelmed mother dealing poorly with frustration this was what serial killers do.
Beating the head is commonplace – the superglue thing is unique.
Her hands were super glued to the wall while she was getting beat. I'd say it's headlines worthy.
It proves premeditation. This woman thought out how she was going to hurt her child and then followed trough.
Worse was the beating that caused a brain injury true. . It was the thought that super gluing the child to the wall, she could not even run away, or hide, and the other children saw it all. The super glue meant she probably lost much of the skin on her hands. She had to be pulled from the wall. Anyone who has ripped skin off in a small area would cringe at the thought. She needs to be kept away from children.
II didn't know about the brain damage. What a mess. We all know that if she'd killed the kid she would have gotten the needle. It all becomes so arbitrary when you know your country's correctional system is really little more than a human disposal system. I am opposed to the death penalty in all cases but it seems that Texas breeds some of the worst monsters in the country. Maybe there's a correlation? Science says there is.
Agree – idiotic press makes it about being glued to the wall – that was the final torture, the abuse came long before that.
Thick about it from this perspective...
Yes the beating was horrible, and the result is more terrible to the child, but in respect to the mother the act of gluing your child's hands to a wall for a beating is more depraved. She had to go get the glue, then apply it with the intent of immobilizing her daughter...and she immobilized her for the reason so she would hold still during the beating.
In the end, though, the word will likely spread in prison...she'll get hers.
Because the glue shows a level of viscous per-meditation that is hard the imagine and impossible to ignore.
Probably because the mothers intent may have been to keep her glued in place so she could beat her more and not have to struggle to do so.
I think they added emphasis on the glue to drive home the fact that the kid was glued to the wall, unable to move and try to defend herself, while her mother was beating and kicking her. Most kids would want to run but the poor kid couldn't run because she was glued to the wall.
Jodi – good question. Maybe it just points out that many people prefer the *novel* or *salacious* aspects of a crime. The fact that a young child is being hurt is not the point for them.
That's because children are beaten in the head every day here, and gluing is unique. Welcome to America!
The glue is mentioned because the child could not run away –
I think they are talking about the glue because her hands were glued to the wall while she received the beating because she wet her pants.
The point of the glue was that she was stuck and unable to defend, protect or get away while being beaten. That's what made it so much worse. She was completely restricted while being beaten. Yes, the beating is outrageous, but the fact she wanted to completely immobilize her while she did it is all the worse.
It's not the fact that she put glue on the baby's hands Jodi, but becuase she used it as a restraining device so the child would not be able to offer much resistance. That is what makes act even more horrendous.
I think the point about the glue is that the poor little one could not in any way defend herself. Not that she really could have anyway at age 3
I think the glue is being focused on, because it can accurately be called torture.
The head injuries were more serious yes, but the glue shows that the mother was actively searching for ways to cause the child to suffer.
She should get 99 months of intensive therapy... jail isn't going to help mother or child.
Don't think the 99 years will stick, but she should be kept in prison until she can no longer breed.
This is where we need an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. Let's super glue her hands to the wall and then beat her like she beat her daughter.
If I was her mother, and found my granddaughter like that, I'd beat her to death right there.
Animals from across the boarder
no ma'am, you do not deserve another chance.
And to those who believe this "mother" deserves some fairness, imagine her babysitting your toddler who's potty-training... if you're okay with this sort of sanction for having an accident, please fire yourself as a parent immediately.
Animal
and Sandusky got 30 years....where's the justice?
. Different state. Different no-no.
Sandusky will NEVER see the outside world again and neither should this monster
She did this to her two-year old daughter. Three other children of hers witnessed it, and she was pregnant at the time. That's 5 children and she is only 23. I don't know at what age she had her first, but five children by age 23 is a strain that most young people aren't capable of coping with. This incident, as horrible as it is, had a buildup. This woman was bent until she finally broke. I agree with the comments that question why she received a longer sentence than some murderers have, especially considering that probation was actually a sentencing option. This is a severe penalty for a severe act. Hating her is understandable, but I don't know that life in prison is the answer. A sentence of 20-25 years seems more appropriate for someone her age.
This situation was escalating to a murder. So many times I read in the news horrific stories of children being beaten to death buy their parents when in the majority of these innocent children had evidence or past history of being abused by the people they look to for protection: parents. This girl was blessed to have been removed from the situation before she became another statistic of parents who kill their children. This mother deserved a stiff sentence-period.
Totally agree
This situation was escalating to a murder. So many times I read in the news horrific stories of children being beaten to death by their parents when in the majority of these innocent children had evidence or past history of being abused by the people they look to for protection: parents. This girl was blessed to have been removed from the situation before she became another statistic of parents who kill their children. In prison there is also a justice system that does NOT tolerate such evil behavior. This mother deserved a stiff sentence-period.
She could have used birth control. I don't feel one once of pity for her, in fact, I wish they would put a bullet between her eyes.
She should at LEAST stay in until menopause, when she is rendered infertile.
She's lucky she wasn't sentenced to death. *That* is the appropriate sentence. There's no doubt of her guilt here at all.
Why? So in 20 years she does it again? She should get the death penalty for what she did. At 23 years old, and 5 kids, obviously this woman has issues so why not just off her and be done with it?
Super Glue her legs together. 23 with 5 kids on our dime I suppose.
That's actually a decent idea.
Well, you don't want her having access to birth control, do ya?