Authorities in Arizona say a woman was convicted this week on multiple charges related to the torture and death of her toddler son.
According to the New York Post, Raquel Barreras and her husband, Martin Barreras, starved Roman, the 3-year-old victim, and deprived him of necessities including human interaction.
The mother was found guilty on Friday of abuse such as fashioning a torture chamber in which she kept the young boy.
When the parents moved out of their home in Tucson about five years ago, they reportedly left their son’s body behind.
Police say they left Roman’s remains had been stored in a toy box found inside the residence in 2014.
Both Raquel and Martin Barreras were charged with counts of murder in the first degree, child abuse, and concealing a body.
The mother’s defense attorney argued that she was living in poverty and was addicted to narcotics at the time of the abuse.
According to Fox News, the defense’s opening remarks dismissed the characterization of the boy’s death as a murder, describing the toddler as a “medically compromised” boy.
She is expected to be sentenced in July, according to KGUN.
A trial in the case against Martin Barreras is set to get underway in August.
[Featured image: Raquel Barreras, Tucscon Police Department]
