SANDY, Utah (ABC4) — A Sandy mom was sentenced Monday for the homicide of her son in what District Attorney Sim Gill said was the most disturbing child abuse case they had ever seen.
Reyna Elizabeth Flores Rosales, 35, was sentenced to five years to life in prison for reckless child abuse homicide, a first-degree felony, one to 15 years each for two counts of child abuse, a second-degree felony, and zero to five years for reckless aggravated child abuse, a third-degree felony.
According to court records, on February 25, 2019, Rosales called to report that she found her 7-year-old son unresponsive on the shower floor. When officials arrived they said they found him lying on the living room floor not breathing, but had a faint pulse. He was taken to Primary Children’s Hospital and declared brain-dead two days later.
Rosales was charged the following Thursday with criminal homicide, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and two counts of child abuse. According to charging documents, the boy also had several scars, bruises, swelling, burns, fractures, and more.
According to the medical examiner, he died due to blunt force trauma. “This defendant abused her child with intentional, heinous, and repeated violence,” a statement from Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill stated. “The level of callous, humiliating, and gratuitous violence inflicted here demanded the most severe punishment.”
According to Gill, this was one of the worst cases he has seen in his 28 years. “No amount of time will be long enough for the crime this defendant committed and the manner in which she did it,” Gill said.