News
Mom pleads guilty to child abuse in baby's death
Posted: Oct 28, 2011 4:59 PM by Trovette Tottress
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A Colorado Springs woman whose baby drowned in a tub of hot water while she was across the street
buying cigarettes and chicken wings has pleaded guilty to child abuse resulting in death.
Twenty-three-year-old Estella Toleafoa faces 24 to 48 years in prison at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Jan. 20.
According to an arrest affidavit, Toleafoa told police she left her 9-month-old son and his 2-year-old half-brother in the tub with
about an inch of water in it March 8 while she went to the store. An autopsy report said the baby drowned and was scalded.
The Gazette reports a tearful Toleafoa told the judge Friday she wanted to take responsibility for her
actions. The baby's father is a Fort Carson soldier who was serving in Afghanistan.
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