LANCASTER, Pa. — A Lancaster woman will serve up to 16 years in prison after pleading guilty to third-degree murder and endangering the welfare of a child in connection to the July 2020 death of her infant son.
Francheska Torres, 23, was accused of assaulting her two-month old child on July 13, 2020, resulting in fatal injuries.
The boy died five days after police responded to Torres' Lancaster apartment and found the child in cardiac arrest. A forensic pathologist and treating physicians determined the boy would have been "immediately incapacitated" by one of the injuries sustained in the assault, according to police.
An autopsy determined that the cause of death was traumatic injuries to his brain and spinal cord, police.
Torres was arrested on August 14, 2020.
At her hearing this week, Torres told Court of Common Pleas Judge Thomas Sponaugle that she understood her rights and willingly entered a guilty plea on both felony charges.
Sponaugle sentenced her to a prison term of eight to 16 years.
Assistant District Attorney Karen Mansfield prosecuted the case.
