Killer Breaks Down Crying as She Learns Fate for Horrific Murder of 4-Year-Old Boy with Autism

A Las Vegas woman who earlier this year pleaded guilty to the 2018 murder of a 4-year-old boy with autism has now been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Crystal Stephens, 48, was sentenced in Clark County District Court on Wednesday, May 7, according to both CBS affiliate KLAS and the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt sentenced Stephens less months after she took a plea deal in exchange for no longer facing the death penalty in connection with the murder of 4-year-old Brandon Steckler Jr., per KLAS.

As part of the deal, Stephens pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping resulting in substantial bodily harm and child abuse, according to court records viewed by PEOPLE.

“We’ve had a number of these cases before this,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Hamner told the judge, per the Journal. “This might be the worst child homicide I’ve ever had.”

Per KLAS, Stephens cried during her sentencing and told the court she was “terribly sorry” for her “horrific” actions.

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The boy was first discovered by authorities burned and bruised on July, 30, 2018, according to the Journal, before he died in the hospital the following day.

Citing court documents, the outlet reports that Steckler’s death was ruled a homicide and that he was found with broken ribs, a lacerated liver, a collapsed lung, a broken collarbone and potential rat bites.

Steckler had 27 rib fractures, methamphetamine in his system, and suffered from malnutrition, sepsis and pneumonia at the time of his death, KLAS reported, citing prosecutors.

According to arrest records cited by the Journal, Stephens initially told authorities she was caring for the boy and his sister.

Drug residue and paraphernalia were later found in the home of Stephens, who had called police to report that the boy had drowned, according to KLAS.

Before the boy’s death, Child Protective Services had been contacted five times regarding concerns about the boy and his family. The agency investigated once but found the claims to be unsubstantiated, according to a state child welfare report cited by the outlet.

Stephens was first arrested on July 30, 2018 and remains in custody, per the Clark County Detention Center’s website. She told the judge during her sentencing Wednesday that she takes full responsibility for her actions, but did not explain why she abused the child, according to the Journal.

Anna Clark, her public defender, added that Stephens knows there is no justification for her actions, the outlet reported.

Court documents obtained by the Journal indicate Steckler was nonverbal with autism. His father, Brandon Steckler Sr., is now remembering him as someone who brought joy, as he recalled referring to him by the nicknames “Tuku” (“too cool”) and “happy feet.”

“I will say his story long after he’s dead and gone, because that is my boy, and he will always be in my heart,” the father said, per the Journal.

The boy’s grandmother, Synthia Mosley, told the court she hopes Stephens “feels in every moment the consequences of what she’s done because we feel them in every heartbeat.”

“The hole his absence has left behind is as immeasurable as the love he gave so freely,” Mosley said.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.