DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida mother has pleaded no contest to second-degree murder charges in the death of her 4-year-old son.
Prosecutors say 27-year-old Mikkia Shardae Lewis beat and punished Ke’Andre Coleman and his body was already going into rigor mortis when paramedics arrived after her boyfriend called 911 in 2013. Lewis told dispatchers her son wasn’t breathing.
In May, 37-year-old Joe McCaskell was found guilty of third-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports that during McCaskell’s trial prosecutors said belts and shoes were used to beat the boy.
A police report says Lewis told investigators she guessed she “whooped him too much.”
She faces a minimum of 40 years in prison. A judge hasn’t yet set the sentencing hearing.