Azuradee France, 33, of Detroit was sentenced Monday in Wayne County Circuit Court to 35 to 60 years in prison in the 2022 death of her three-year-old son Chayce, who was beginning to lose his eyesight, authorities said.
The boy's decomposing body was discovered in an inoperable freezer in the basement. The medical examiner determined he died from blunt force head trauma.
The boy was discovered by police in the freezer during a wellness check at the home on June 24, 2022, at 12:45 a.m.
In June 2022, France was charged with felony murder, first-degree child sbuse, torture, and concealing the death of an Individual. Earlier this month, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a sentence agreement of 35 to 60 years in prison. On Monday, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Tracy Green sentenced her.
“The alleged facts in this case have astounded even the seriously jaded. Our children continue to be at risk – not just from gun violence but also from the alleged murderer that lives in the house with them,” said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy in a statement.
The Detroit Free Press reports that the the judge said the mother herself was a victim of childhood abuse, a lack of mental health treatment and the failings of a government system that should have removed her children from her custody before she killed her son.
"It doesn't excuse her conduct, but it does explain a lot," Green said. "I wish that intervention could have happened sooner."