Cleveland mom sentenced for abusing 3-year-old son to death after regaining custody of him

CLEVELAND (TCN) -- A judge sentenced a 31-year-old woman to life in prison after she pleaded guilty to killing her 3-year-old son last year.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office announced Monday, July 22, that Timmeka Eggleton was ordered to spend life in prison with the possibility of parole after 31 to 35 years in connection with the death of her son, Curtis Witcher. Eggleton pleaded guilty in June to murder, felonious assault, and endangering children.

On June 14, 2023, Cleveland Police and EMS responded to an address near East 79th Street and Euclid Avenue and found Witcher unresponsive in his stroller. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The prosecutor’s office said the medical examiner determined Witcher died from blunt force trauma to his body "that could not have been accidentally inflicted." His manner of death was ruled a homicide.

A grand jury returned an indictment on June 29, 2023, on charges of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, one count of felonious assault, and one count of endangering children.

According to WJW-TV, Witcher had been in foster care with a family who wanted to adopt him, but in March 2023, a judge granted Eggleton full custody of her son again. An attorney representing Witcher reportedly told the judge that Eggleton was "verbally abusive beyond what is typical, speaking in a very insulting and demeaning manner, as well as swearing and being dishonest."

The attorney said Eggleton would not let him visit the boy unannounced and he was not allowed in her house.

The judge said returning Witcher to Eggleton "will not be contrary to the child’s best interest” and that the "placement of the child is appropriate."

WJW reports Witcher’s aunt said at the sentencing hearing, "She is a disgrace as a mother, she is a disgrace as woman, as a Black woman within our community because I can’t understand how could you just take the life of a child."

Witcher’s foster mother said, "You are no mother. You’re a monster."

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