A West Texas woman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the fatal beating of her daughter when the toddler fussed at going to sleep.
Jurors in El Paso on Monday sentenced 23-year-old Lorraine Lizzette Merjil of El Paso. The jury on Friday convicted Merjil of injury to a child by omission in the July 2011 death of her 20-month-old daughter, Desiree.
Prosecutors say Merjil punched, kicked and elbowed the girl because the youngster cried and wouldn't sleep.
The woman's then-boyfriend also pleaded guilty to injury to a child by omission and testified he saw Merjil beat the girl. Jorge Sanchez received probation.
A coroner determined Desiree could have survived with immediate medical attention — not hours later when the couple took the injured girl to a hospital.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.