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A 26-year-old woman, identified as Archibeque has pleaded guilty to murder and child abuse over the death of her six-year-old son in Arizona, United States (US).
She could face a life jail term under the first-degree murder charge.
She locked her son, Deshaun Martinez, inside a small bedroom closet without food until he died in March 2020.
A post-mortem found the child was starved to death.
When he died, he weighed just 18lbs (8.1kg) – which is well below average for his age.
The boy was said to have a skeletal appearance as a result of the absence of fat in his body due to the starvation which eventually led to his death.
Archibeque was charged along with the boy’s father, Anthony Martinez, and his grandmother, Ann Martinez as the cases were seperately tried.
The boy’s parents initially attached their son’s malnourished state to a medical condition and to taking diet or caffeine pills.
They later informed the police that they kept Deshaun and his older brother in a closet in their Flagstaff apartment for sixteen hours everyday and gave them little to eat but the brother survived.
Police said the children were confined there as punishment for stealing food while the parents slept. The parents told the police officers that Deshaun had been in the closet for about a month.
Both Anthony Martinez and Ann Martinez had previously pleaded not guilty.
Archibeque will now be sentenced in the coming weeks.
Source: TheStreetJournal | Read More
