Indiana woman gets life in prison without parole for killing her 5-year-old son

PORTLAND, Ind. (AP) — A northeastern Indiana woman convicted of killing her 5-year-old son has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A Jay County judge sentenced Chelsea Lanett Crossland, 28, on Thursday after accepting the jury’s recommendation that Crossland face life in prison without parole for Christian Crossland’s March 2022 death.

Jurors had convicted the Portland woman in July of murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death.

An autopsy found that Crossland’s son died as a result of “complications from blunt force trauma” to his head and face and that he had also suffered from malnutrition, The Star Press of Muncie reported.

According to court documents, Crossland beat, choked and spanked her son and at times did not allow him to eat “for days at a time.”

Portland is located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.