Mother Who Ignored Son’s Texts as 3-Year-Old Died Home Alone Learns Her Fate

A Massachusetts mother has been sentenced to prison after leaving her children alone while she went out drinking, ignoring urgent messages from her oldest son as her 3-year-old child was dying.

Jennifer Prudencio, 28, pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter and three counts of reckless endangerment in connection with the death of her son, Yael Guardado-Prudencio.

Boston Superior Court Judge Joshua Wall sentenced Prudencio to four to six years in prison. After her release, she will serve three years of probation, according to court records and reporting.

The case stems from an incident in April 2024 at Prudencio’s apartment on Spencer Avenue in Chelsea, a city just north of Boston across the Mystic River.

Prudencio knew Yael was ill that night but left the apartment anyway. She traveled to nearby Revere, where she drank into the night.

Police arrived Sunday morning and found the toddler unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Assistant District Attorney Audrey Mark told a judge after Prudencio’s arrest that Yael had a seizure disorder and hemophilia and had been vomiting blood in the days before his death, according to a courtroom report from local ABC affiliate WCVB. “He had also fallen while having a seizure and had a bleeding wound to his face, which was not properly healing,” Mark said. The boy’s mother had taken him for medical treatment twice that week.

Despite his serious condition, the only supervision Yael had that night came from his siblings, ages 8 and 7, prosecutors said during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing.

Prudencio later told investigators that Yael had vomited and looked pale before she left the apartment.

“Despite being aware that something was seriously medically wrong with her son, defendant left her son in the care of her two other children, who were then ages 8 and 7,” the prosecutor told the court. Prudencio spent the night drinking beer in Revere, slept at her boyfriend’s home and did not return until 10:30 a.m.

As Yael’s condition worsened, his 8-year-old brother repeatedly sent messages to their mother.

The boy told Prudencio that Yael was sick and repeatedly vomiting.

At one point, the frightened child sent his mother a video showing Yael moaning and visibly distressed. Prudencio eventually replied that she would be home soon and instructed the 8-year-old to remain with his younger brother. She did not return for another nine hours.

“The child was in agony over the course of the night as he died in bed next to his siblings,” the prosecutor told the court.

Prudencio’s defense attorney asked the judge to show leniency, pointing to abuse the defendant had experienced during her own childhood.

“She at the time of this child’s death was in essence a child herself,” the defense attorney said. “There’s no positive outcome in this case for anyone. Neither for the Commonwealth nor for myself as defense counsel.“

At one point, Judge Wall expressed frustration that the plea agreement had not been settled in advance. He told prosecutors that the court should have been informed of the case’s posture earlier, saying the hearing might have been scheduled differently to allow a fuller understanding of the facts.

The defense sought to use that apparent procedural lapse in support of its request for a lighter sentence.

“This is a tragedy that began when she was born,” the defense attorney said. “Justice has to serve a purpose in this and it’s not just about the punishment for this woman’s actions but part of justice is correction.”

In the end, Wall sentenced Prudencio beyond sentencing guidelines for such crimes in the Bay State. The court agreed with the state that the aggravating factors — the young age of the victim, the level of cruelty involved, and a mother’s need to protect her child — necessitated a sentence in excess of three years.

Lauren Silver and Matt Naham contributed to this report.

The post Mom who ignored son’s desperate texts as his 3-year-old brother died while home alone so she could drink and sleep at boyfriend’s house learns her fate first appeared on Law & Crime.