Sentencing is ready for Arizona mom responsible of homicide and youngster abuse in hunger of her son

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — An Arizona mom who pleaded responsible to homicide and youngster abuse is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday within the demise of her 6-year-old son who was saved in a closet and denied food at their Flagstaff condominium.

Elizabeth Archibeque faces a most penalty of as much as life in jail with out the potential of parole for the March 2020 demise of Deshaun Martinez when she goes earlier than Coconino County Superior Court docket Choose Ted Reed.

Archibeque was charged together with the boy’s father, Anthony Martinez, and grandmother, Ann Martinez, who’ve pleaded not responsible and are being tried individually on homicide and youngster abuse prices.

An post-mortem decided Deshaun Martinez, who weighed simply 18 kilos (8.1 kilograms), died of extreme hunger. Authorities discovered him unresponsive after Ann Martinez referred to as 911 on March 2, 2020, and mentioned she thought her grandson was lifeless. The way of demise later was listed as murder.

The boy’s mother and father initially attributed their son’s malnourished state to a medical situation and to ingesting food regimen or caffeine tablets. Ultimately, they advised police they saved him and his older brother in a closet for 16 hours a day and gave them little to eat. The brother survived.

The boys’ confinement was punishment for stealing meals whereas the mother and father slept, police mentioned. Their two sisters have been discovered wholesome within the condominium the place all of them lived.

Archibeque reached an settlement with prosecutors earlier this yr to plead responsible within the case. The phrases of the settlement state that she is not going to be eligible for probation, and if sentenced to life in jail, she is not going to be eligible for any type of parole or work launch.

Prosecutors determined early on they wouldn’t pursue the demise penalty.

Attorneys for Ann Martinez are scheduled to seem at a case administration convention Sept. 18 together with her trial at the moment set to start in January 2024. Anthony Martinez had been scheduled to go to trial earlier this yr, however the trial date was vacated and has not been reset.