OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska woman was sentenced Friday to decades in prison in the death of a 5-year-old boy.
Twenty-one-year-old Antonea Cannon was sentenced to 70 - 72 years for intentional child abuse resulting in death. She had pleaded no contest to the charge in February.
Cannon took Jaylen Hearnes to the hospital unresponsive in March 2022 and said he was cold to the touch. But police quickly grew suspicious of the account she offered.
Cannon, who identified herself as the sole caretaker of Jaylen, told police she left him with her 12-year-old sister while she worked and that the boy's biological mother took him out to lunch.
Cannon said she noticed him unresponsive after picking him up and taking him with her to get her two children from daycare.
But the 12-year-old told police she was not at home that day, and another sister confirmed the girl's account.
Police say injuries to the child were consistent with severe child abuse, and court documents revealed officers found blood in Cannon’s home, along with a “striking instrument” that appeared to be splintered.
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