A Minnesota woman, aged 24, is set to serve a prison term for the tragic death of her friend’s 3-year-old son, who endured prolonged physical abuse leading to his demise.

Shiann Lynn Erickson has reached an agreement with prosecutors and is poised to enter a guilty plea concerning the 2024 death of Eastyn Deronjic.

Currently facing charges of second-degree murder in the death of the young boy, Erickson is slated to attend a change of plea hearing in Clay County District Court on April 7, as per court documents.

In this case, Erickson’s co-defendant, 26-year-old Rosa E. Garza, admitted guilt to a second-degree murder charge in May 2025 and received a 20-year prison sentence.

According to Minnesota’s legal stipulations, Garza, now known as “Mason Garza,” must serve at least two-thirds of her sentence behind bars, equating to just over 13 years, with the remainder on supervised release.

Law enforcement from the Moorhead Police Department, alongside emergency medical teams, responded to a call at approximately 1:09 a.m. on March 18, 2024. They arrived at an apartment on the 1500 block of Belsly Boulevard South in Moorhead, roughly 230 miles northwest of Minneapolis, concerning an unresponsive 3-year-old child.

Upon arriving, first responders located the heavily bruised child, later identified as Eastyn, and performed lifesaving procedures before transporting him via ambulance to Sanford Hospital. The child died shortly after arriving at the facility.

Police said that Eastyn and his younger sibling had been staying with Garza and Erickson in their Moorhead home for “an extended period.” Garza and Erickson were acquaintances of the children’s biological parents.

Following Eastyn’s death, his younger sister was removed from the home and placed into protective custody.

According to court documents, authorities on June 28, 2024, received Eastyn’s autopsy report, which determined that the child’s manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was a blunt force injury that perforated his bowel. In addition to the fatal blow, Eastyn also suffered 28 additional blunt force injuries throughout his body.

A witness told police that she went to the defendants’ home at about 1 a.m. on the night of Eastyn’s death to watch him and his sister because Garza had to take Erickson to the hospital due to an illness. The witness said that when she got to the home, Eastyn appeared sick and was vomiting up whatever he had eaten. The boy asked the witness for a glass of water, but then began to cough and gag before becoming unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the hospital less than two hours later.

The children’s mother told police that she had not seen her kids in about two weeks. When she had last seen them, she said she believed Eastyn’s bruises were due to him being “uncoordinated.” She last spoke with the boy a few hours before his death, saying he sounded sick but OK, the complaint states.

Garza and Erickson claimed that the bruising on Eastyn’s face happened the day before he died. They said he was vomiting over the toilet and passed out, hitting his head. Garza also claimed that the boy had fallen off his bike and skateboard that day.

Erickson claimed that Garza had been abusive toward her in the past, but said she had never seen Garza be violent with Eastyn. However, that claim was undercut when the couple turned their phones over to police.

In a message from March 17, 2024, the day Eastyn sustained his fatal injuries, Erickson was fighting with Garza and wrote: “Ok have fun with your little b—. Go beat on her kid.”

Prior to changing her plea, Erickson had been scheduled to go to trial in May.