Victoria Toth Orlando Florida mom pleads guilty to sucker punch death of toddler son, Jayce Martin that led to boy’s intestines exploding and dying of infection.
The mother of a two-year-old toddler boy who died when a ‘sucker punch’ to the stomach caused his intestines to ‘explode’ has pleaded guilty to aggravated child neglect.
Victoria Toth, 26, and her boyfriend, Johnathan Pursglove, 27, were both charged with aggravated manslaughter over the death of Toth’s son Jayce Martin in Orlando, Florida, in 2018.
Toth faces 15 years in jail after pleading guilty to child neglect earlier this week as part of a deal that saw the more-severe charge dropped.
Officials have not revealed who they suspect beat Jayce.
But they pointed out Pursglove has a history of domestic violence. His plea hearing is scheduled for March 3, The Orlando Sentinel reports.
Mom ignored pleas to take child to doctor
Jacye was malnourished and bruised when the toddler was found unresponsive and surrounded by vomit on the floor of his bedroom, medics said.
An arrest affidavit for Toth said her son was likely tortured to death – and found Jayce could have been saved if he’d been seen by a doctor.
Toth said she left her son with her boyfriend Pursglove when she went to work, but came home on July 15 to find the boy ‘unusually tired’.
Jayce was seriously ill for three days when Toth found him lying face down in a pool of vomit at around 6.30am on July 18 – prompting her to call 911.
His biological father Robert Martin had told Toth to seek medical attention for the toddler sooner, but she did not the dailymail reported.
Pursglove was performing CPR on Jayce when emergency crews arrived at the house in Washington Shores and pronounced him dead.
Investigators have said they believe Toth watched for days as her child slipped into a coma because she was ‘scared of getting in trouble’.
‘Recent struggle or fight.’
Police found a ‘broken toilet lid and broken toilet seat’ in the bathroom in Jacye’s bedroom, leading them to suspect this was the weapon used to beat the boy.
The toilet lid and seat appeared to be clean which indicated a ‘recent struggle or fight.’
But there’s more.
Police also found fist-sized holes in the walls.
Doctors said the ‘sucker punch’ to the boy’s stomach was so severe his intestines ‘exploded’, which lead to an infection.
Judge Mark Blechman accepted Toth’s plea deal and she will be sentenced at a later date.
