Police say that a mother in Colorado has been given 84 years in jail for killing her 5-year-old daughter in 2023.
It was reported that Alexus Tanielle Nelson, who is 28 years old, pleaded guilty to three felonies on June 12. These were second-degree murder, tampering with a dead body, and trying to influence a public worker.
Nelson was charged with murder because her daughter Maha Li Hobbs had died.
The child’s burned body parts were found in Nelson’s apartment in the 1000 block of S. Elkhart Street after the Aurora Police Department checked on the child’s safety.
Nelson’s mother asked for the police to come because Nelson had sent her “concerning statements” via text message and the grandmother hadn’t heard from or seen the child in about three weeks.
When the police went to Nelson’s house to do a safety check, the mother said she had given her child up for adoption.
Police called the adoption agency Nelson named, but they “said they had no contact or case file with Nelson or her daughter,” the news release said.
This lead police back to Nelson’s house, where a detective smelled what smelled like dead flesh coming from a utility closet door on the patio of the apartment.
“Detectives found the burned remains of Nelson’s daughter inside a bag.” “Ashes and pieces of bone were also found in Nelson’s fireplace,” the news report said.
Nelson pleaded guilty on Wednesday, which got rid of hearing dates for his trial later this month. Because of the terms of her plea, she will not be able to argue in the future.
Chief Deputy DA Chris Gallo said, “We were ready to take this case all the way to trial, but this plea keeps Maha Li’s family from having to listen to painful, horrific, and gruesome testimony.”
“Detectives from the Aurora Police Department were able to quickly find flaws in the defendant’s story. This helped us solve the case quickly and give Maha Li’s family justice.”
Other government sources said Nelson had other choices for Maha besides killing her.
DA John Kellner said, “This mother knew there were adoption programs that could have taken care of this 5-year-old child, but she chose to murder.”
“It’s impossible to fully understand what turned this mother into a monster, but she should spend many years in prison for the horrible crime she committed.”
There are many safe and helpful ways for parents to give up their kids if they can’t take care of them, said Senior Deputy DA Kathleen Tierney.
“It breaks my heart that a mother would kill her own child and then lie about adopting another child to make her family think the child is still alive and well.”
