Fla. Mom Gets Decades in Prison After 14-Year-Old Son Died Weighing 33 lbs.: 'Brought Tears to My Eyes': DA By Nicole Acosta

A Florida mother will spend decades behind bars after her 14-year-old son died from malnutrition.

Talia Nelson, 45, was sentenced to 32 years in prison after entering no contest pleas to charges of aggravated manslaughter of a child and aggravated child abuse, according to a press release from the 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said Nelson “neglected, physically abused, and ultimately murdered her 14-year-old son” on Jan 1, 2024.

At the time of his death, the boy was severely malnourished and dehydrated, weighing only 33 lbs., per the release. He also reportedly had fresh bruises on his face and linear scars across his torso, back, and legs.

According to CBS News and Fox 13, the boy was pronounced dead at the hospital and an autopsy determined his manner of death was a homicide, Daytona Beach police said.

Nelson initially claimed to investigators that her son suffered from a rare bone disease, lactose intolerance and bulimia. However, investigators learned that she had last taken the boy to see a medical professional in June 2020.

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“This case brought tears to my eyes when I saw the condition of our teenage victim,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in the release.

“It is incomprehensible for a mother to neglect and torture her own flesh and blood to the extent we uncovered in this case. How could she watch her son suffer for weeks and months and years until he weighed less than a typical 7-year-old child? Heartless and cruel are words that come to mind. May he rest in peace, and may she be forever haunted by her brutal and vicious crime.”

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.