Prosecutors have reported that a 23-year-old mother named Katrina and her 27-year-old boyfriend, Jose, coerced her 5-year-old daughter into putting urine-soaked socks in her mouth, resulting in the forceful removal of two of her teeth. However, the horrors do not end there. Last week, the mother pleaded guilty to her involvement in the tragic death of her 5-year-old daughter.
Prosecutors stated that the mother entered a guilty plea for a first-degree felony count of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission, as reported by NYP.
Court documents reveal that the District Attorney’s Office agreed to reduce her sentence to 45 years in prison in exchange for her guilty plea. Investigators uncovered a distressing history of severe physical abuse that spanned weeks, leaving the child, Mercedes, with numerous cuts, bruises, and significant hair loss, along with the loss of several toenails.
Both the mother and her boyfriend subjected the child to three weeks of abuse after she requested his assistance in disciplining her daughter. She alleged that he compelled her daughter to ingest dog feces while yelling at her. The mother also disclosed that her boyfriend placed a urine-soaked sock in the girl’s mouth, then violently extracted it, resulting in the loss of two teeth, according to officials.
During interviews with investigators, the mother further disclosed that her boyfriend repeatedly struck Mercedes with belts and his ring-clad hands. He claimed that he only slapped the child on the buttocks and accused the victim’s 6-year-old sister of pulling out her hair. Jose Ruiz, who pleaded not guilty to injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, is scheduled to stand trial in October.
