Pueblo woman pleads guilty in her toddler’s death
PUEBLO, Colo. -- A Pueblo woman has accepted a plea deal to lessen charges related to the death of her 23-month-old son last year, according to our news partners at The Pueblo Chieftain.
The suspect, 22-year-old Faith Hughes, agreed to plead guilty to child abuse -- negligence involving death, a class 3 felony. This deal is in exchange for the 10th Judicial District Attorney's Office dropping the original charge of child abuse resulting in death, a class 2 felony.
As part of the plea deal, Hughes will be sentenced to no less than eight years in prison and no more than 16 years, with three years of parole, according to the Chieftain.
Hughes and the child's father, 22-year-old Skyler Chapman, were arrested June 29, 2018 after Hughes brought the boy into a local hospital with severe injuries. She claimed that the boy had been assaulted by strangers while they were walking in eastern Pueblo, according to the Chieftain.
The boy had several bruises on his body, a black eye and two bleeding brain injuries. He needed machine assistance to breathe, according to officers who arrived at the hospital.
Hughes told officers that she and Chapman frequently were physical with the boy as a form of discipline, according to the arrest affidavit.
In a later interview with police, Chapman told officers that he had likely caused his son's black eyes when he "smacked" the child because "he wouldn't shut up." Chapman also said he had on that occasion kicked the child, causing the child to land on his head.
The boy began gasping for air and Chapman checked his pulse, which he told police he could not detect, the Chieftain reported.
The child was flown to a Denver hospital to receive more medical treatment but died on July 4, 2018 from his injuries.
Chapman pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder in June of 2019. He was sentenced to 48 years in prison plus five years of parole, according to the Chieftain.