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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.
Another Obama welfare queen goes to jail. Vote Romney/Ryan!
This was Obama's son! He was killed to hush it up!
Is she legal? Is she the hard working immigrant just here to make a better life for her family?
we should've glued both of her hands together before they put her in jail
Cut off one of her arms, super glue the other one to her body, super glue her legs together, then throw her in the ocean for the sharks to finish her off.
She deserves her hands be glued and she be beaten into a comma and then deserves the 99 years so she can be in pain.
She deserves to burn in hell for eternity.
Is that enough for you?
Parole eligibility should be NO sooner than 60 years served and not younger than 90 years of age.
Rot in prison, POMDS.
I feel sorry for that girl and her mother must have been drunk while potty training hopefully she is ok
I'm all for prison time for the lady and what she did is beyond heinous but (unlike most of the opinions I'm seeing) I think her punishment might be a little too severe. Plenty of people have gotten shorter years for murdering people, her baby is still alive (thank God). But 10-20 might be right, 30-life harsh, death penalty simply no. Also I think it's easy to say cast her into a pot of hell, "sew her butt closed and let nature take it's toll", but what good would come from any of it. Her 5 kids are going to grow up without their mother (child protective services isn't exactly a well funded system in southern states, nor can her mother support these 5 children), they may see her when she's at youngest 53, and all of us will have to fork over 40k a year feeding and housing this young lady if she doesn't commit suicide first. I personally think the race of this young lady played a role in her sentencing (Casey Anthony was acquitted), as well as the general perception of her sentence. Race card aside, 99 years for a non-murder simply seems extreme to me.
Perhaps this sentence will prevent the murder of one of her children. That is the way you have to look at it. How often do we say "If only they had been kept behind bars this would've never happened."
Chris, you're one sick puppy. Rot.
If you were from Texas you would know it's not harsh. I'm actually surprise she didn't get sentenced to lethal injection.
I agree, but unfortunately people want vengeance. Thus the cycle of violence and abuse continues...
While I agree with some other commentators that 99 years is a bit harsh, what this "woman" did was unforgivable. Having a temper and taking things too far is one thing. This is an entirely different matter. Parole in 30 is cutting her more slack than she deserves.
I wonder if she will have a cell phone in prison? That's my only concern. Can't live without a phone.
Chris, I don't necessarily agree that the sentence is too harsh, but I wholeheartedly agree that the system is biased and race and economic status play a part in convicting/sentencing people of color.
you friggen' monster...I hope you never get to see your children again and that jail is rough on you...you loser
B e a n e r s are awesome
99 Yrs? wow. In Texas you can kill someone if you suspect someone trespasses your property and you walk free. A woman pre-meditates and kills her pastor husband for abuse and she walks free... Casey Anthony walks free... She deserves may be 3-5 yrs.
Why in the hell the Texas payer would pay for 99 yrs of upkeep for this woman?
It's called protecting yourself and property, so you can legally shoot someone who can hurt you or a family member. The rest that you mentioned didn't happen in Texas. In Texas, Casey Anthony would have probably been killed by inmates before her lethal injection.
23 and has 5 kids...no wonder she didn't know how to be a parent. She started getting pregnant before she could grow up herself and then kept going. I'm surprised they let her mom have the kids; her mom raised (or, more accurately, failed to raise) her. What makes us think she'll do any better with the already-damaged-from-abuse grandchildren?
You mean she has five kids and she is only 23? beats me