A 22-year-old woman convicted in the beating death of a 2- year-old boy she was babysitting in La Puente was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years to life in state prison.
Niesiia Johnson was found guilty last month of second-degree murder and assault on a child causing death.
Johnson watched the boy, identified only as Atreyu M., for the child’s mother on multiple weekends during the three months leading up to his death, and had been with her for a 10-day stretch until his death, according to Deputy District Attorney Deborah Shaw Scott.
Johnson told authorities that she found the boy hunched over and bleeding from his nose and mouth after she got out of the shower early on the morning of July 31, 2012, according to the prosecutor.
A housemate called 911 and the toddler was taken to a hospital, where he later died of a subdural hematoma, the prosecutor said.
Following a lengthy investigation, Johnson was charged in November 2012 with killing the child.
According to court testimony, the toddler’s body showed extensive abuse, including severe bruising on his face and buttocks and whip marks on several areas of his body.
Blood found in the defendant’s bathroom, bedroom and clothing linked her to the boy’s beating, according to the prosecutor.
—City News Service