Texas – In a shocking incident that has haunted Texas for years, a case of fatal child abuse reached its long‑delayed conclusion this week as a 30-year-old mother, identified as S. Newsom, who allowed her boyfriend to brutalize her 2‑year‑old daughter, was finally sentenced. Prosecutors said the mother admitted “she didn’t have a choice” when she let the man punish the toddler with forced time‑outs, wall‑squats, and escalating violence—abuse that ended in the little girl’s death.
Newsom pleaded guilty to injury to a child by failing to protect resulting in serious bodily injury, a charge rooted in her role in the torture and killing of her 2-year-old daughter. The plea brought a 22‑year prison sentence handed down by Judge T. Byars, marking the end of a yearslong fight by Texas prosecutors to hold both adults in the household accountable for the toddler’s final hours.
The charges against Newsom stemmed from her admitted failure to intervene as her then‑boyfriend, identified as J. Fulbright, systematically punished and beat her daughter. Prosecutors detailed how the abuse escalated from time‑outs to forced squatting against a wall, spankings, and eventually to violent beatings. Newsom testified that she witnessed the discipline worsen over time, yet continued to leave her daughter alone with Fulbright while she worked. On the stand during Fulbright’s capital murder trial, District Attorney K. Boggeman asked why she allowed the punishments. Newsom answered, “I didn’t have a choice.” Authorities determined otherwise. The toddler’s extensive injuries, including marks across her entire body, were evidence of abuse so severe that medical staff later testified there was “not a surface on the child that had no injuries.”
The fatal sequence unfolded on October 18, 2018, when Newsom rushed her daughter to a hospital wrapped in a blanket, telling medical staff the little girl “had the flu.” But emergency workers immediately saw the truth. The 2-year-old girl was unresponsive, limp, and covered in bruises. A witness described the child as “floppy” and said she wasn’t sure the girl was even alive. Doctors quickly determined the child had been beaten and transferred her to a children’s hospital, where she later died. Investigators soon uncovered a disturbing pattern inside the home. Newsom testified that Fulbright forced the girl to squat against the wall for up to ten minutes, spanked her when she faltered, and ultimately beat her repeatedly across her small body. At one point, Newsom admitted she slapped her daughter in an attempt to revive her from seizure‑like symptoms — injuries that prosecutors said were inflicted by Fulbright’s escalating violence.
During Fulbright’s February trial, grim details emerged as Newsom described how discipline had changed: “I never witnessed her mad with anyone,” she said. “It was new and different.” Within weeks, investigators concluded the toddler endured prolonged abuse that culminated in her death. Fulbright’s path to conviction was long and complex. Two earlier trials ended in mistrials, one in 2019 due to jury issues and another in 2022 when his own attorney was arrested. But in March 2024, the third trial resulted in a capital murder conviction.
Newsom, who had been free on bail since 2022, was taken back into custody immediately after her sentencing. She was booked into county jail early Tuesday to begin serving her 22‑year term. Under the terms of her plea, she waived her right to appeal. Fulbright, meanwhile, is appealing his conviction, claiming evidence was improperly excluded and accusing prosecutors of vindictiveness — allegations the state disputes.
The 2-year-old girl’s death left her family shattered. Her aunt wrote on a fundraiser page, “These evil acts on this angel has absolutely stopped the family’s world from spinning.” District Attorney Boggeman said the plea brought needed closure: “As a mom, I don’t know any amount of time is enough, but it was the right move for our county and to finally let that baby rest in peace.” For a child whose brief life was marked by pain, the sentencing marks the first true measure of accountability — and an end to a story of violence that should never have happened.
