AUSTIN WATKINS - 4 yo (2008) - Ludlow MI

A grandmother and an aunt have pleaded guilty to starving a 4-year-old
boy to death last year in central Mississippi's Scott County.

The Clarion-Ledger reports that Circuit Judge Marcus Gordon accepted
the plea deal Tuesday by the grandmother, 43-year-old Janice Mowdy, and
the aunt, 22-year-old Stephanie Bell.

The women pleaded guilty to capital murder in exchange for sentences of life without parole.

If convicted by a jury, they could have been sentenced to death.

Austin Watkins was found dead at his home near Ludlow on Nov. 9. Authorities say the boy weighed 19 pounds.

Mowdy told the judge she fed her grandson but he vomited often. She
said he needed help, but she worked too much to take him to the doctor.

None of 4-year-old Austin James Watkins' family showed up Tuesday to
see his grandmother and aunt head to prison for his starvation death.
And there were hardly any visitors to his grave, where a boot-shaped
headstone enscribed with "Always In Our Heart" was paid for with the
help of neighbors who did not know him.A
motive for his death also remains unclear, nearly a year after he died
in a secluded mobile home where he lived with the women and his
siblings. But residents in his rural community of Ludlow said they feel
some relief."I'm
glad it's over and they got what they deserved. He didn't stand a
chance. ... It breaks my heart," said Martha Denson, 86, who stopped by
the boy's grave after placing flowers on her family's plot nearby.Circuit
Judge Marcus Gordon cited difficulty in accepting the plea deal that
Janice Mowdy, 43, the child's grandmother, and Stephanie Bell, 23, the
child's aunt, reached to avoid a possible death sentence. Both pleaded
guilty to capital murder in exchange for a sentence of life without
parole.The deal
also allowed authorities to avoid a trial that could have resulted in a
lesser punishment. Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee said there were
concerns that jurors may have sympathy toward Mowdy, a poultry farm
worker with a fifth-grade education."It's probably the best we could get," Lee said after the sentencing.Austin
Watkins, who was sent to live with the women because his mother was
deemed unfit and his father was in jail, was found dead at the Ludlow
home Nov. 9.Authorities say an autopsy showed the boy weighed only 19 pounds at the time of his death.Mowdy
and Bell showed little emotion as they told the judge they knew the
child was sick for months but failed to take him to a doctor. Mowdy
said they were too busy working seven days a week."I worked all the time. I just really didn't see it like I see it now," Mowdy said.She
said she didn't deny Austin food and had no motive to starve him. She
said she fed him "vegetables and stuff" and that he had food the day
before he died. But Mowdy said Austin had a gastro-reflux problem that
caused him to throw up after eating.
Gordon asked Mowdy why she was pleading guilty.
"Cause I'm guilty. I should have carried him to the doctor," she said.Gordon asked Bell: "Did you know she was doing wrong?""Yes, sir," Bell said.Bell shrugged her shoulders when Gordon asked why she didn't do something about it."(Mowdy) said we needed to get him (to a doctor). But we had all that work," she said.Gordon
told Mowdy and Bell: "I fully and simply don't understand how grown
people can take a child who is 4 years old and let that child suffer
medically and do nothing about it."You knew that he would die. No question about that."Austin
Watkins' siblings remain in the custody of the state, which is
reviewing its child-welfare policies. Mowdy told the judge the
Department of Human Services did not visit her home while Austin was
there.DHS officials say confidentiality rules prevent them from discussing the case.They said they've reduced social workers' caseloads in the past year and have been able to hire more workers in Scott County.They are asking lawmakers for more money to recruit and retain social workers.Lori
Woodruff, deputy administrator for DHS's Family and Children's Services
division, said the agency will centralize its system of receiving
child-abuse calls Nov. 1. She said the agency is also meeting with
community leaders statewide to try to prevent abuse.Meanwhile, Scott County authorities are preparing to handle another child death case that occurred last year.Fourteen-month-old Tikirah McClendon of Forest suffered a fractured skull and internal injuries from an October 2008 assault.The
girl's mother, Demeteria Nicole Hill, 25, and her boyfriend, Willie
James Holifield, 22, were booked on felony child abuse and murder
charges.