Mother Who Killed 2-Year-Old Son For Wetting Bed Jailed For 40 Years

A South Dakota mother who brutally beat her two-year-old son to death after he wet the bed has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. Katrina Shangreaux pleaded guilty to second degree murder in March for beating her son, Kylen Shangreaux, to death two years ago.

The 30-year-old told investigators she hit Kylen with a studded belt, threw him on the ground and kicked him in the stomach and head. She also bit him several times and burnt him in a fit of rage. According to Rapid City Journal, Kylen had 111 external injuries with about 70 percent of his body covered in bruises. Kylen suffered bleeding on the brain, cigarette burns to his head and horrifically mutilated genitals.

In her confession, she admitted to have been drinking heavily before the attack. She also said she became even angrier after the boy "gave her a sideways look" and referred to her as "Angie" — his paternal aunt Angie Shangreaux.

Angie had asked the judge to give Katrina a life sentence for the death of Kylen.

“You’re the last person who can give Kylen the justice he deserves,” Angie said. “I’m begging for what would be a lifelong sentence for her.”

Angie created a Facebook page to promote the case and fight for a life sentence for Kylen. She reacted to the sentencing, posting: "My poor baby boy... "

Earlier, she wrote: "I should have never stopped fighting for you. I love you the most Ky Sky Pie. No one can ever take away our love... All I know is that this didn't have to happen. It could have been prevented... if someone had listened and done their job."

The charges against Katrina suggested 27 to 33 years but Chief Judge Jeffrey L Viken increased the sentence due to the "unusually heinous" crime. He described Kylen's death as "horrific, depraved, torturous [and] humiliating," adding the toddler could never have defended himself.

After Kylen died of the torture, Katrina and her mother, Sonya Dubray, cleaned blood and feces off Kylen, and cleaned up the scene. However, Dubray pleaded not guilty to being an accessory to the killing. She will face trial in November.