Mother gets 99 years for beating child, gluing hands

USATODAY

A Dallas judge today sentenced Elizabeth Escalona to 99 years in prison for beating her 2-year-old daughter into a coma and gluing her hands to a wall because of potty-training problems.

Escalona, 23, had pleaded guilty in July to a felony count of injuring a child and admitted earlier this week to abusing daughter Jocelyn Cedillo, saying, "Only a monster does that." But she rejected a plea bargain that called for a 45-year sentence and instead asked the judge for a second chance.

Police said she kicked Jocelyn in the stomach, beat her with a milk jug and then Super Glued her hands to an apartment wall. A doctor testified that Jocelyn suffered bleeding in her brain, which put her in a coma for a couple of days; a broken rib; multiple bruises and bite marks; and skin torn from her hands from being stuck to the wall, the Associated Press says.

Mom gets 99 years for gluing tot's hands A Dallas woman who beat her 2-year-old daughter and glued the toddler's hands to a wall was sentenced Friday to 99 years in prison by a judge who described his decision as a necessary punishment for a brutal, shocking attack. (Oct. 12)

State District Judge Larry Mitchell said he believed that Escalona was a victim of domestic abuse and of sexual abuse as a child.

"But I can't consider that evidence outside of the context of this trial. To me it comes down to a single, salient fact: On September 7, 2011, you savagely beat your child to the edge of death. For this, you must be punished," he said, according to a transcript of his remarks by the Dallas Morning News.

Escalona had no visible reaction to the verdict, but her family members "wailed and wept with their heads in their laps as TV cameras surrounded them," the paper writes.

Her lawyer, Angie N'Duka, asked for probation or a prison sentence of less than 10 years, arguing that Escalona was a "train wreck" waiting to happen because of broken home, abuse and a childhood of drug use and gangs, AP notes.

But N'Duka did not downplay Jocelyn's injuries, calling them "despicable."

"But then the question is, `What is justice for Jocelyn? ... Giving Elizabeth the opportunity to be a better mother, giving her the opportunity to get counseling services, will be justice for Jocelyn."

Escalona will be eligible for parole in 30 years. Jocelyn and her four brothers and sisters are being cared for by Escalona's mother, Ofeila.