Woman gets five to 20 years in prison for death of her son
A Las Vegas woman was sentenced Thursday to five to 20 years in prison for the death of her 17-month-old son.
Azucena De La Cruz, 24, pleaded guilty in January before Judge James Bixler to voluntary manslaughter and child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm in the death of Joel Alcantar.
Las Vegas firefighters responded about 7:30 a.m. on May 10, 2009 -- Mother's Day -- to a 911 call about a lethargic and moaning toddler in a home on the 6600 block of West Washington Boulevard. The boy was transported to Summerlin Hospital Medical Center, where he died about an hour later.
The Clark County coroner's office found that the boy died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen.
According to court documents, the toddler was very underweight, had patches of red, scaly marks on his skin and bruises on his back and shoulder.
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
