40-year sentence given for murder
A Houston woman was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison for punching her boyfriend’s daughter in the stomach so hard the 4-year-old child died.
Elisena Carmona, 34, was facing a maximum sentence of 45 years after she pleaded guilty to murder.
The child, Lillian Fortner, known as Lilly, was taken to Northwest Medical Center where she was pronounced dead two days after the assault on March 9, 2014. Lilly was the daughter of Carmona’s boyfriend.
Investigators say the couple initially told medical staff she had fallen from a chair and hit her head.
An autopsy revealed the child died from a hole in her small intestines that was caused by blunt force trauma. She also had several other bruises, which state District Judge Marc Carter took into account during the sentencing.
“There was more than just a single blow to Lilly,” Carter said from the bench. “It was that blow, and several others, that resulted in the death.”
Prosecutor Jennifer Meriwether said the fatal injury was from a punch to the stomach. She and the child’s maternal grandmother said they were satisfied with the judge’s decision.
“We’re just happy that Lilly got justice,” said Annette Harthan. “No amount of time would have been enough.”
Carmona’s lawyers and her family declined to comment after the hearing.