Texas Mom Gets 60-Year Term For Not Stopping Boyfriend From Beating Baby To Death

A Texas woman was sentenced to 60 years in prison Thursday for failing to stop her boyfriend from physically abusing both her son and daughter, resulting in the death of the boy.

Christy Wedgeworth, 25, was convicted of two counts of injuring a child through "omission," Law & Crime reported.

She told investigators that she had witnessed her boyfriend Joshua Deshaun Lowe, 29, abuse her kids several times,

Lowe was previously convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison for beating to death 11-month-old victim Javontae Neeley. Wedgeworth reportedly told police Lowe hit her son in the face "at least 10 times" while wearing boxing gloves.

Neeley was rushed to St. Michael's Hospital in Bowie County, Texas, on July 11, 2021.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Texarkana Gazette, Lowe initially told medical personnel that the child had choked on a hot dog.

However, doctors found that Neeley had serious physical injuries, including severe trauma to the head and numerous broken bones in different stages of repair, resulting in hospital workers calling the police.

In an interview with Texas police, Lowe allegedly described the incident differently. Lowe reportedly told police he dropped the young boy after the child vomited on him. He added that the boy fell backward and hit his head on a table after landing on his bottom.

"Lowe used a doll to demonstrate how he dropped (Javontae). He dropped the doll from one or two feet in the air," the affidavit said.

However, Lowe's explanation and demonstration of the incident did not point out the reason for the boy's large number of injuries, which "were at least seven to 10 days older than the injury to the head," the affidavit continued.

Lowe was charged with one count of capital murder of a person under 10 years of age, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and injuring a child with the intent to cause severe bodily injury, jail records show.

A doctor from the Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock told police that Javontae was suffering from injuries that included "abusive head trauma, subdural hemorrhage, cerebral edema, retinal hemorrhages, healing rib fractures (five separate ribs), and bruising, (facial scalp, ear, cheek, chest, back and extremity)," TXK Today reported.

The doctor also reportedly said the child's brain and eye bleeding were consistent with being violently shaken and then thrown into a hard surface.

Lowe was also charged with an additional count of injuring a child with the intent to cause severe bodily harm for allegedly abusing Javontae's 4-year-old sister.

Wedgeworth, who completely disregarded the beating, reportedly told police that Javontae had recently suffered a dislocated shoulder. However, she said they did not bring the child to the hospital because Lowe "re-set" the infant's shoulder.

But doctors reportedly told police that Javontae's shoulder was broken and not dislocated. The doctors said any attempts to re-set the arm made the injury more severe.

"The evidence of Christy Wedgeworth's complete disregard for the wellbeing and safety of her children was overwhelming," Bowie County Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter said, according to TXK Today Friday.