ELIJAH ARCHULETA - 2 yo - Denver CO

Denver CO--- A mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday after
prosecutors say the death of her 2-year-old son was one of the most
horrific cases they had ever seen.
Isela Reyes-Talamantes, 25, pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting
in the death of her son, Elijah Archuleta.




Prosecutors say she rode around, running errands for hours with her
boyfriend as her son was dying a slow and painful death from scalding
burns on his body.
Although Reyes-Talamantes was not accused of causing the burns, she
did not seek any medical care that could have saved the boy's life and
later lied to police investigators to protect both herself and her
boyfriend, 25-year-old John Vigil.
Elijah was still alive and in his car seat next to his then
4-year-old sister when Vigil picked up Reyes-Talamantes on Nov. 7, 2008.



Elijah's sister later told investigators that Vigil had "got fire on
Elijah in the bathtub."
Pictures show the burns to the boy were so severe that the skin on
his forehead and chin had fallen off. Patches of skin were also missing
from the bottom of his feet.
As they ran errands, they stopped to buy groceries and fast food.
Vigil and Reyes-Talamantes did not take Elijah to St. Anthony Central
Hospital until eight hours later. They claimed he had choked on a piece
of food.
He was already dead when they got to the hospital, after suffering
burns on more than 75 percent of his body.
"Mother's everywhere should listen," said Denver Chief Deputy
District Attorney Kerri Lombardi said in a statement. "If you make a
choice to protect your boyfriend or husband over your child, you will be
punished. You will be punished for sacrificing the well-being of your
child for yourself. If your fear of losing your boyfriend is greater
than your sense of a duty as a parent, you will go to prison."



Vigil is facing trial later this year in connection with Elijah's
death. He is charged with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting
in death.

You know what? I don't know how you do it Tom. There are some days I absolutely cannot read about these cases, and then the rest of the days, I have to. Our system is out of control....and someone needs to be a voice for these tiny, precious, little victims that had no choice....

Thanks for being....YOU.

Admin wrote:You know what? I don't know how you do it Tom. There are some days I absolutely cannot read about these cases, and then the rest of the days, I have to. Our system is out of control....and someone needs to be a voice for these tiny, precious, little victims that had no choice....

Thanks for being....YOU.

---I appreciate your comment Missa ( cute pet name. you like? ). Yes, it is a sometimes shocking task to locate these stories and discover what some people will do with their own kids, or those for which they have guardian, babysitter or "friend of the family" status. For crying out loud, (as one of our Blamily members monikers reminds us) Kids are Special. They depend on us to steer their life course as they grow into adulthood and to prevent them from harm along the way. They are taught to implicitly trust their scout leaders, teachers, ministers, neighbors and certainly their caregivers. Likely that these will be the offending party in the majority of these cases. My sincere hope, as I have said before, is to shine a very bright spotlight on this darkened corner of society and raise public awareness and ire about these cases. The stories I post are not all that I locate, nor are they the only ones out there. I hardly ever post the stories of rampant street violence and those of (preventable) accidental deaths.
Please, friends, be a spotlight in your community. Talk about these horrors and let your friends and relatives know to let the young people in their lives know about the dangers they face. It would be Utopian to live in a threat free society. The least we can do is concentrate on making it threat free for the youngest and most vulnerable fellow humans.