Mum who beat son, 2, to death ‘after he refused to eat hot dog’ given 20 year jail sentence
A MUM has been slapped with a 20-year jail sentence after beating up her two-year-old son to death when he refused to eat a hot dog.
Elizabeth Woolheater pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder and two counts of child abuse for killing little Anthony Bunn at their home in Kansas.
The toddler died in hospital two days after the violent attack in their Wichita home.
Woolheater said she hit the boy for not eating the hot dog, before hearing her boyfriend Lucas Diel hitting the boy more.
VIOLENT ABUSE
Police were called to reports of Anthony not breathing on May 4 last year.
Officials said they arrived to find the boy with injuries to his head and face.
He was rushed to Wesley Medical Centre in a critical condition, however succumbed to his injuries on May 6, 2018.
A post mortem showed the toddler had numerous broken bones, bruising, swelling to the brain and was malnourished.
Woolheater was sentenced to 19 years and five months in prison on Friday.
Diel denied hitting Anthony but was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder.
He is now serving a 49-year sentence.
Records show that the Department for Children and Families (DCF) was alerted that the boy was being abused before he died.
Anthony’s grandfather Zak Woolheater said his grandson was “the most amazing kid you will ever see.”
He said the family first suspected he was being abused in October 2017.
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Family members noticed bruises and marks on his head and body at that time.
Zak told local media: “We took action, we took him to Wesley hospital and reported suspicion of child abuse.”
Both the police and DCF investigated the allegations but the case never went anywhere as the district attorney could not find enough evidence to charge anyone with a crime.
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