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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 makes me temporarily proud of my home state's justice system.
99 years!? There are some people who have committed murder and do not get 99 years. Permanently take her children away, tie here tubes and give her ten to twenty years to think about. Does Texas really want to pay for 99 years?
Remember, this is the Texas judicial system. She'll have a lot of time with little to distract her thoughts of the near murder of her child and who knows what she did to the rest of them. In agreement about the children being with the grandmother, doesn't seem like a good idea. They will need a lot of therapy for a long time to understand how to deal with the abuse they suffered. I hope the grandmother is full of empathy and love, but it doesn't seem likely. Maybe someone can accidentally pull her by that lip ring!!!!
I am glad they put her away. All the kids suffer enough from her torment. This way, the kids will hopefully have a normal life and better future.
SHE GETS WHAT SHE DESERVES POOS LIL BABY ......
SHE GETS WHAT SHE DESERVES POOR LIL BABY ......
My heart goes out to Elizabeth, sent to prison for life, hopefully her children will visit her often !
I do not know if she was abuse when she was a child but she should not do what she did. I cannot imagine what she did to the other kids of her but I am glad she is put away so she could not do anymore harm to the children. As for the kids visiting her, I am sure they may visit her someday under their own terms and understanding.
Why would they visit her? Let her rot in prison.
I believe I've read that a young child has a better chance of recovering from brain damage than an adult, so hopefully Jocelyn grows up without any major complications.
wow this Escalona is being hated on by two stupid girls on here farrah and tina 1649, because escalona supports obama, is on welfare and has five kids thats what makes her disgusting not the fact she beat her kid, whats next? Escalona has a lip peircing thats it lets skin her! Girls like Tina and farrah are so embarrassing to the female race, you idiots need to stay at home so you dont spread your words of ignorance. you girls are the ones who shouldve been glued to the damn wall.
Kimberly, this has nothng to do with her supporting Obama, bieng on welfare or having five kids. This has everything to do with her beating an innocent child!! It is not hatred they are spreading it is disgust at the actions of an obviosly sick woman who is in desperate need of help. Maybe in prison she will get the help she needs and her children will have a chance at a life that they deserve without abuse!! Look at the facts and the reality and stop blaming hate. It's people like you that turn their backs and allow these kids to suffer and die.
I love how these articles end with "She was already reported to the TX Child Welfare and they didn't do a thing!"
What a shame!
So she got this punishment and the kid in Colorado who killed his kid got 90 days. Sounds like the judge in Colorado could take a lesson from the judge in Texas
i think she should get 1 year. If child molesters get 2 years and a woman who murdered her four children gets 3 years, how come she gets 99 years?
Sarcasm, but still, 99 years?
ya no kidding, they all needed to be sentenced to 99 years. people who abuse children obviously get the idea from somewhere. I hope that the children are ok at the grandmas. she needs to be locked up in the mental hospital glued to the wall and beat her damn self. my heart and prayers go out to those poor children. they have a long road of healing in front of them. ugh how completely awful i cant believe there are people out there that really do things like this to children.
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This woman is exactly where she belongs...she has a long time to think about what she did and I believe that Jocelyn will have a much better chance at life!!! Good bye Escalona, hope we don't hear from you for a really long time!!!!!!!!!
THis is what happens when people in the shallow end of the gene pool reproduce. It is happenning more and more. A Sad state of affairs. I guess there's no hope of heaving her sterilized? Of course not. That would violate her rights and be immoral.
Not enough... She needs a LOT of eye for an eye.
The father should have shot the baby batter in her EYE instead of knocking her up...then it would have just been hot
It's a mandatory addition of 20 years for an idiotic neck tattoo. Seriously, this person is evil, if that were my child, Liz would be very happy to get the 99 versus my alternative.
Something is wrong with our legal system that would allow for a sentence like this but allow a murderer to get much less time.
I am NOT saying she doesn't deserve to be in jail – I'm just saying that our sentencing has to be fair and above board an dnot some knee-jerk emotional reaction. There is no room for emotions in our justice system. Justice, fairness, logic, mercy... THOSE things should be in our justice system – not hysteria.
Brain injury & a coma? OK – forget my last post.