A woman has been sentenced to almost 20 years in jail after admitting to the murder of her two-year-old son Anthony Bunn.
Kansas mother Elizabeth Woolheater pleaded guilty to second degree murder and two counts of child abuse after she beat Anthony to death after her refused to eat a hot dog.
It’s understood that Woolheater was trying to feed her son pieces of hot dog for breakfast. When he refused, she snapped and began beating the boy.
Her boyfriend Lucas Diel held the food to her son’s mouth while she hit him.
According to Woolheater, her partner continued to beat the boy after she left the room.
When she returned she found her son bruised and bleeding but only called for help when she discovered he had stopped breathing.
The boy, better known as ‘Tony’, tragically died in May, 2018, two days after the brutal attack.
While his mother admitted to her involvement in his death, Diel has denied hitting the child, insisting he had fallen out of bed.
However, he has been convicted of second degree murder and will serve 49 years in prison for his horrendous crime.
During the sentencing of Woolheater, Judge Jeff Syrios stated that the law and community would not tolerate the kind of harm she had inflicted on her boy.
‘Tony was under your charge. And your job was to raise him and protect him,’ he said.
‘You failed him in the very worst way possible.’
Reading a statement in court, Woolheater apologised for the treatment of her son.
‘I know that I failed my son when he needed me,’ she read.
‘I do want it to be known that I did love Tony – and still do – with all of my heart.’
Woolheater’s mother was also present at the sentencing, where she revealed she hoped her daughter would get the help she needed on prison.
‘If [Tony] was here, I think the only question he would have for you is ‘Why?’ she said.
‘Why, mommy? Why didn’t you protect me? Why didn’t you love me enough? I love you,’ she added.
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