Mother guilty of murder by omission after toddler found 'infested' and partially eaten by ants
A woman in Mexico has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murdering her infant daughter through neglect so severe authorities found the malnourished toddler partially eaten by ants.
Mariana Lizeth Hernandez Salas had neglected her 18-month-old daughter so badly it shocked the entire community of Chihuahua when news broke in 2014.
Childcare workers were alerted to the possible neglect when a neighbour noticed the child spending too much time on her own, Excelsior reports.
They visited the house and found the infant Luna Estefania in a deplorable state of neglect; an investigation surmising Salas, 20, simply stopped taking care of the child.
Luna was not fed for 15 days from the end of April into May last year.
Police charge woman with murder in connection with death of Sanaya Sahib
Missing Victorian teen found dead in mine shaft was murdered: police
She was also partially paralysed; having fallen over while her mother showed her no regard. The child had suffered a severe blow to the head when she was two months old.
When police and child protection officials found the child, her body was reportedly covered in ants – some eating away at her body.
A witness said the ants had "infested" the child.
The child was hospitalised but died after two months on July 26 at the Children's Hospital.
A judge found Salas guilty of murder by omission, finding her lack of action being decisive in the child's death.
Salas was sentenced to 30 years and ordered to pay more than AU $21,000 in fines.
Morning news break - April 12
