VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A Volusia County woman was sentenced Monday to 32 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges in the death of her 14-year-old son, according to a news release from the7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Talia Nelson neglected, physically abused and ultimately murdered her son on Jan. 1, 2024.
Recommended Videos
According to the release, investigators found the teen severely malnourished and dehydrated, weighing just 33 pounds. He had fresh bruises on his face and linear scars across his torso, back and legs.
Nelson told investigators her son suffered from a rare bone disease, lactose intolerance and bulimia. Authorities later determined she had not taken him to a medical professional since June 2020.
“This case brought tears to my eyes when I saw the condition of our teenage victim,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement. “It is incomprehensible for a mother to neglect and torture her own flesh and blood to the extent we uncovered in this case. How could she watch her son suffer for weeks and months and years until he weighed less than a typical 7-year-old child? Heartless and cruel are words that come to mind. May he rest in peace, and may she be forever haunted by her brutal and vicious crime.”
The Daytona Beach Police Department investigated the case, officials said.