Woman sentenced to probation in death of her 2-month-old son

A woman was sentenced to probation Thursday for a felony charge of child abuse resulting in death in connection with the 2020 death of her 2-month-old son.

Tattiyona Wilson, 29, was initially charged with murder after she was arrested in October 2021 in connection with the death of her son, Xaden Jackson, in September 2020.

The Clark County coroner’s office said Xaden’s death was a homicide caused by blunt force head injuries. According to police, he died from three skull fractures.

Wilson did not admit to causing Xaden’s death, rather pleading to a charge of child abuse by “failing to protect” him from injuries resulting in his death, court records show.

During a court hearing Thursday, District Judge Tierra Jones sentenced Wilson to probation not to exceed three years. If she violates her probation, she could face four to 10 years in prison.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Dena Rinetti said Wilson was able to plead to the child abuse charge due to “issues with the case,” including testimony from a medical examiner during a preliminary hearing that Xaden’s injuries could have been caused by a single impact. Chief Deputy Public Defender Edward Kane said that his client has maintained that another young child caused the baby’s fatal injuries.

“The fact that the other child was responsible for this wasn’t something that was dreamed up by my client and her husband at a later date,” Kane told the judge. “It was mentioned by both of them at their very first interview.”

Both Kane and Rinetti said they spoke to experts who disputed the other side’s argument over the source of the injuries. Rinetti pointed out that police said there were inconsistencies in Wilson’s statements to investigators.

“At the end of the day, your honor, the child is no longer with us,” Rinetti said. “I do believe the defendant who stands before you today is responsible for that.”

Rinetti said that although Wilson had “taken responsibility” in her guilty plea, she believed that a prison sentence was appropriate in the case.

Wilson’s public defender instead asked for her to be placed on probation. He said that she has been cooperative with police and no longer has custody of her remaining children, but is trying to hold her family together through court-approved supervision.

“I am asking the court to place my client on probation for the offense to which she has pled guilty, which is failure to keep her child safe, failure to protect her child,” Kane said.

Before placing Wilson on probation, the judge agreed that it was a “difficult case.” She said she had to take into account that Wilson admitted to failing to supervise the baby, not to causing him harm.

“The court has to consider what does justice look like?” Jones said. “Is the idea of losing a child worse than whatever I’m going to do today? And I don’t know the answer to that, because this isn’t my child.”

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.