Mum jailed after killing toddler who refused to eat hot dog
A mother has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison over the death of her two-year-old son who was beaten after he refused to eat a hot dog.
Elizabeth Woolheater of Wichita in the US state of Kansas was sentenced on Friday for the May 2018 death of Tony Bunn.
Woolheater, 24, pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder and two counts of child abuse, local publication The Wichita Eagle reported.
She was sentenced to 19 years and five months.
The boy died two days after he was beaten unconscious. Woolheater said she hit the boy for not eating the hot dog and then heard her boyfriend, Lucas Diel, hitting him more.
Police found Tony on the living room floor of their home after responding to a call out. He was not breathing.
“Neither the rule of law nor the community tolerates this kind of harm done ... to our children,” Judge Jeff Syrios told Woolheater.
“Tony was under your charge. And your job was to raise him and protect him.
“You failed him in the very worst way possible.”.
Diel, who denied hitting the boy, is serving a 49-year sentence for second-degree murder. He told police Tony sustained his injuries falling out of bed.
With AP
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