A Florida woman, aged 45, has been sentenced to over 30 years in prison for the neglect, abuse, and eventual death of her 14-year-old son, who weighed a mere 33 pounds at the time of his passing.

On Monday, Talia Nelson entered a no-contest plea to charges of aggravated manslaughter and child abuse related to the death of her son, Zakye Smith-Nelson. Following her plea, a judge imposed a 32-year prison sentence, according to prosecutors.

Nelson attempted to attribute her son’s severe condition to a rare bone disorder, lactose intolerance, and bulimia. However, investigations revealed she had not sought medical care for her son in almost four years. Additionally, Zakye was found with fresh bruises on his face and scars scattered across his body.

“This case brought tears to my eyes when I saw the condition of our teenage victim,” stated State Attorney R.J. Larizza. “It is unfathomable for a mother to neglect and torture her own child to such an extreme. How could she watch her son endure such suffering for weeks, months, and years until he weighed less than a typical 7-year-old child? Heartless and cruel are the words that come to mind. May he rest in peace, and may she be forever haunted by her brutal and vicious crime.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that the average weight for a 14-year-old boy ranges from 110 to 120 pounds, as detailed in their growth chart data.

As Law&Crime previously reported, officers with the Daytona Beach Police Department at 8:02 p.m. on Jan. 1, 2024, responded to Nelson’s home on Carolina Lake Drive regarding a report of an unconscious juvenile, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Upon arriving at the home, first responders made contact with Nelson, who claimed that she was cooking dinner for her son when she saw that he had fallen to the floor unconscious.

Officers at the scene reportedly noted that the child “appeared to be extremely malnourished, weighing only 33 pounds” and had what appeared to be bedsores running up the side of his body. Nelson explained the boy’s emaciated appearance by telling police that Zakye was bulimic, lactose intolerant, and lived with a rare bone disease. However, Nelson could not identify the names of any doctors who had diagnosed her son with those ailments.

A search of the home reportedly revealed that one of three bedrooms contained no furniture, only soiled clothing and what smelled like “stale urine,” police said. In the main bedroom, officers found laptops issued for the purpose of homeschooling that were still in the boxes and appeared to have never been opened.

An autopsy determined that Zakye was “severely malnourished” to the point that he had been losing bone density, per the report. The boy also had scars on his legs and torso that the medical examiner said were consistent with being struck by a long, flexible object. Bedsores reportedly covered the boy’s body, indicating that he likely couldn’t move much on his own and would not have been able to cause the marks on his own.

It was ultimately determined that his manner of death was a homicide and the cause of death was abuse and neglect, local NBC affiliate WESH reported.

“At 33 pounds, the kid probably couldn’t even walk,” Jimmie Flynt of the Daytona Beach Police Department told the station.

In an interview with police, Nelson reportedly claimed that her son would make himself vomit, so she gave him protein shakes in the hope he would start gaining weight. She also allegedly conceded that she had “dropped the ball” by failing to seek medical attention for the starving boy, particularly because he had been unable to walk on his own for several weeks. However, Nelson did note that to get around, the 14-year-old would “scoot on his butt,” per the report.

Nelson reportedly told police that she did not neglect her son.

Medical records subpoenaed by authorities showed that Zakye had not seen a doctor since he was 10 years old. However, at that time, the boy was reportedly healthy, with doctors indicating that he had good vitals, was well-nourished, and showed no signs of concern regarding his growth or development.

“This is a well-nourished, well-developed patient, in no apparent distress,” the doctor who examined Zakye in 2020 reportedly wrote in the boy’s medical records.