Las Vegas mother sentenced in death of 3-year-old son
A Las Vegas mother must serve at least 14 years behind bars in connection with the death of her 3-year-old son, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Cassie Smith, who authorities said watched as her boyfriend abused Daniel Theriot, causing his death, pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder and child abuse charges.
District Judge Michael Villani sentenced Smith to 14 to 45 years in prison.
“You have to protect your child,” the judge said in handing down the sentence. “And you didn’t do that.”
Joshua Oxford, 42, also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse charges. Oxford was sentenced to 16 to 45 years in prison.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo argued that Smith was no less culpable in the death than Oxford.
“The abuse was ongoing for a substantial period of time in her presence,” the prosecutor said. “There is evidence that she personally engaged in some of the abuse.”
Smith declined to speak during her sentencing hearing, but Chief Deputy Special Public Defender Clark Patrick argued for a shorter term, saying that abuse of Daniel was “entirely Mr. Oxford’s doing” and that Smith “did not play a part in the death of her son.”
At one point shortly before Daniel died, the prosecutor added, Smith had messaged the boy’s biological father that she and Oxford “lost it on him.”
“If you don’t come get this kid, something bad is going to happen,” she wrote.
Smith, now 21, told homicide detectives that she watched Oxford pour water over her son after he smacked the boy “over and over again” on Sept. 1, 2018, inside their studio apartment in Las Vegas. But when Daniel “still wouldn’t listen,” Oxford heated water on a stove and poured it on the boy, Smith told police.
Daniel was dead the next morning, Oxford and Smith told police.
“After that, her behavior is more than offensive,” DiGiacomo said.
Police said Smith reported that Daniel vanished at Sunset Park. Authorities quickly suspected her story was a lie after no one at the park recalled seeing the woman and child together.
Smith then told investigators that after she discovered Daniel’s lifeless body, the couple placed him in a plastic tub and drove to a remote spot at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, an arrest report stated.
Smith and Oxford were arrested after Daniel’s body was found Sept. 3, 2018.
Prosecutors have said the boy’s body showed signs of ongoing abuse. An autopsy found that Daniel suffered multiple bruises, abrasions and blunt force injuries, including several broken ribs and a subdural hemorrhage.
Police said Daniel’s 2-year-old brother was taken by Child Protective Services and transported to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, where staffers also discovered signs of physical abuse.
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.