A Baton Rouge, Louisiana woman pleaded guilty on September 11, 2017 to what prosecutors called the “horrific” 2014 beating death of her 2-year-old daughter.
Candice Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter and cruelty to a juvenile. A murder conviction would have carried a mandatory term of life in prison.
An autopsy revealed 2-year-old Da’Laijah Smith died of severe blunt force injuries to the head, neck, chest and stomach. She also suffered rib fractures, and abrasions and contusions on her arms and legs. The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office classified her December 29, 2014 death as a homicide.
Smith told police her daughter hit her head when she shoved the toddler against a shower wall at their home.
Prosecutor Kathleen Barrios said in trial that Smith intentionally delayed seeking medical treatment for the child after the fatal injuries were inflicted. As part of the cruelty charge, Barrios said Smith injured her daughter on the bottom of the foot, “causing blistering and/or scarring,” with the intent to conceal the abusive injury and avoid arrest or prosecution. The prosecutor stated previously in court documents that Smith struck the child’s foot with a belt.
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Smith also refused to share or provide nourishment to her child, her written plea agreement states. She admitted that on at least one occasion, she hit her daughter so hard it left bruising, so she stopped because she did not want to go to jail.
Barrios, who previously alleged in court documents that Da’Laijah was the victim of an “escalating pattern of abuse” by her mother. She also said that Smith’s cruelty to her daughter spanned from August 1, 2014 through December 2014.
The investigation into Da’Laijah’s death revealed she was living in deplorable conditions, sleeping in her own urine and vomit. She was also confined to a small loveseat in the home.
It was revealed that Smith’s young son, who suffers from severe autism and hearing impairment, was taken from her by the state in March 2014. The home, in which the boy was living, had no working plumbing at the time.
Judge Richard Anderson sentenced Candace Smith to consecutive terms of 40 years for manslaughter plus 10 years on the cruelty charge.
[…] SEE ALSO: The Horrific Beating Death Of 2-Year-Old Louisiana Girl Da’Laijah Smith […]