Veronica Aguilar, the California mom who was found guilty of sedating her 11-year-old son and hiding him in a closet which resulted in his death, was sentenced Dec. 8 to 25 years to life in prison, People reports.

Yonatan Daniel Aguilar was discovered lifeless in a closet in their Los Angeles home in August 2016, prompting an investigation. Veronica Aguilar, 46, pleaded no contest to the charge of assault on a child causing death before receiving her sentence.

Reports indicate that Yonatan weighed 34 pounds at the time of his death, displaying pressure sores more commonly associated with elderly nursing home patients or those with prolonged immobilization. Authorities said the child died from the effects of multiple drugs, dehydration, and generalized neglect.

City News Serivce, citing court records, reported that Yonatan had been confined to the closet for three years leading up to his death. During a 2019 preliminary hearing, police testified that the boy appeared significantly younger than his actual age, describing him as “gaunt” and “frail.”

“He was deprived of food for a very long time,” Dr. Janet Arnold-Clark, a child abuse pediatrics specialist, testified in 2019. “Two inches in growth in 4 1/2 years is really marked and concerning, and the only real explanation of that is that he had been malnourished for several years.”

During the recent sentencing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler characterized the case as “tragic,” acknowledging the profound fear and terror the boy must have experienced. Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott emphasized the gravity of the crime, stating that Aguilar’s plea reflected an outcome commensurate with the years of neglect and abuse.

Detective Sandra Platero, who testified during the 2019 hearing, said that Aguilar claimed her son was “pure evil.” The detective outlined how Aguilar administered medication to sedate the child and forced him to sleep in a closet. The boy’s stepfather, unaware of the situation, reported Yonatan’s death to 911, dispelling earlier beliefs that the child was in Mexico with a family friend. 

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