FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona woman who pleaded guilty to murder in the starvation of her 6-year-old son was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday after witnesses described horrors in a cramped closet. handed down. The place where he and his little brother were confined and deprived of food reeked of urine.

Elizabeth Archbeck’s attorneys have delayed her sentence 35 years later, in part because she agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse charges in the 2020 death of DeShawn Martinez. It sought to include the possibility of parole.

But Coconino Superior Court Judge Ted Reed said that while her expressions of repentance were genuine, her “heinous, cruel and depraved acts” merited a prison sentence “to live out the rest of her natural life.”

A police detective testified Thursday that he had never seen anything more terrifying in his life. He was crammed into a 21-by-25-inch (53-by-63-cm) closet for 16 hours a day, a nightmare for debilitated boys.

The 29-year-old Archibek, who took the temporary witness stand to testify on his behalf on Thursday, said he was responsible for his son’s death and that he fully accepted all the sentences he received.

“Most of me died with my beautiful child,” she said. “There is no day without sadness… I’m really sorry.”

Archibek, along with the boy’s father, Anthony Martinez, and grandmother, Anne Martinez, were indicted, pleaded not guilty, and are being tried separately on murder and child abuse charges.

Archibec’s public defender Christine Brown suggested Thursday that two others were primarily responsible for the abuse of the boys.

determined by autopsy Deshaun Martinez weighed only 18 pounds (8.1 kg) and died of extreme starvation.Authorities found him unresponsive afterward Anne Martinez called 911 On March 2, 2020, he said he thought his grandson was dead. The cause of death was later ruled to be homicide.

The boy’s parents initially attributed his son’s malnutrition to a medical condition and the intake of diet pills and caffeine pills. Eventually, they told police they kept him and his brother in a closet for 16 hours a day and gave them very little food. his brother survived.

Police said the boys’ confinement was punishment for stealing food while their parents were asleep. The two sisters, ages 4 and 2, were found in good health in the apartment they all lived in.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Flagstaff Police Detective Melissa Seey said she looked into the small closet where the boys slept the day DeShawn’s body was found in the Flagstaff family’s apartment and found orange stains on the floor. There was a piece of plastic on the floor, and there was a “bad smell, a terrible odor,” he said. urine. ”

“I’ve never seen anything so terrifying in my life,” Shii said. DeShawn was “just a bone,” she said.

“His face was completely sunken. It was like a skeleton,” Shii said. According to her, his brother’s situation was not so good.

“His bones were sticking out of his back. I could see his ribs,” she said.

Deputy County Attorney Michael Tunink said he decided not to show photographic evidence at the sentencing hearing because it was so “disgusting and painful for those who had to see it.”

Brown said Archibek was addicted to methamphetamine at birth and had a traumatic upbringing and mental health issues. She said she had been physically and emotionally abused by her husband and her mother-in-law, and she said there was nothing she could do about the situation. she said.

During a visit to the prison, Mr. Archibek said, “I feel more free here than with him,” Brown said.

She said Archibeck was “very aware that she would be spending the rest of her life in prison” but felt “a huge relief” knowing her children were now in a better place. rice field.

At the request of both attorneys, the judge agreed to seal all pre-sentence documents as confidential to protect the other children’s privacy.

DeShawn’s brother’s adoptive mother said he had “huge trauma about food and eating” and that he “asks every five minutes” when to eat next and “has a special little lunch box with snacks.” was always by my side,” he said. ”

She said it took three years for one of her sisters to start speaking, while the other “believes she carried and saved two of her brothers.”

“So much has been taken from these children,” she said.

Anthony Martinez’s attorneys are scheduled to appear at a case management conference on September 18, and her trial is currently scheduled to begin in January 2024. Anthony Martinez was due to go on trial earlier this year, but her trial date has been vacated and her trial has yet to begin. reset.

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Sonner reported from Reno, Nevada.