Mom Admits Killing Toddler Son Whose Body Was Found In An Alley

A 27-year-old woman in New Jersey has admitted that she killed her 20-month-old son in 2018.

Tynaizha Brown pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of manslaughter and one count of aggravated assault in connection with the death of her toddler son, Jah’vi Brown, the Courier-Post reported.

Jury selection was set to begin Wednesday. Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 18. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years behind bars.

The child's skeletal remains were found by a passerby in October 2018 in a trash-strewn alley off the 800 block of Mount Ephraim Avenue in Camden. The location was not far from the boy's father's home.

The boy had not been reported missing by his mother, and his body remained unidentified for about two months, according to the Camden County Prosecutors Office. DNA testing later confirmed that the boy’s body was Jah’vi.

Authorities said the toddler was killed in August 2018, NJ.com reported.

In January 2019, the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide but listed the cause of death as “homicidal violence of undetermined etiology.”

Brown was arrested and charged with her son’s murder in August 2019, but it was not detailed in the indictment how authorities arrived at this conclusion. She was also charged with crimes against the toddler's two siblings.

Brown's plea agreement was reached as a jury was being selected for Brown's trial for murder and other charges. She had faced a potential sentence of life in prison without parole had she been convicted of the boy’s murder, according to her attorney Richard Sparaco of Cherry Hill.

The plea deal recommends a sentence of 15 years, with no parole eligibility for more than 12 years.

Brown would get credit for almost three years spent in custody awaiting trial, Sparaco said.

The agreement also calls for the dismissal of assault and endangering charges related to Brown's two older children.

A look at her records showed that Brown has a prior conviction in a child-abuse case. She pleaded guilty to an endangering charge in April 2015.

In that case, she received a 288-day sentence for the alleged assault of a 2-year-old girl in Camden in October 2013.