Grandmother pleads guilty to the murder of her 2-year-old grandson

44-year-old Patricia Flores, a Texas grandmother, has pleaded guilty to the murder of her 2-year-old grandson, Lyfe Flores which occurred last year. Lyfe was severely burned in a bathtub but was not taken to the hospital for nearly a week. By the time she finally took action, he was far gone and did not stand a chance.

Patricia told the police that Lyfe had climbed into a tub filled with hot water she was using to clean and that was how he sustained the injuries. She said she failed to get him medical care because she is a nursing assistant and thought she could treat him by herself. She eventually got the police involved six days later after the boy had reportedly gone into shock.

Police found him in a terrible state and by the time he arrived at the ER, it was discovered that he was suffering from internal bleeding, missing teeth, knots on the back of his head, and severe burns, some of which had been wrapped using Maxi Pads.

Child Protective Services had removed Lyfe and his 5-month-old sister from their parents' home and placed the kids with Flores just weeks before the boy's death.

Due to the fact that she waited too long to get the deceased medical care, very few people bought Patricia's claim that it had been an accident and Matt Spillane, Halton City spokesman said as much. 

"The fact that she waited so long and the injuries were so severe, and so obviously severe ... it seems highly unlikely that it was an accidental case," Spillane said at the time.

Cook Children's ER Doctor Catherine Moore testified in court, saying: "When you see a patient who’s about to die, they have a look to them. And I've seen several. This young man had that look."

Officer Heather Hudson with the Haltom City Police was among the first at the scene and recalled in court how nearly all the skin had been burned off Lyfe's feet.

"There were black spots, like dead skin or infection. And his genitals and buttocks were burned very badly," Hudson said.

The grandmother initially faced a charge of injury to a child. But the Tarrant County medical examiner's office ruled her grandson's death a homicide, and prosecutors pursued a murder charge instead. Flores pleaded guilty to felony murder on Monday. She faces between a 5 and 99-year sentence.