A Texas woman has been sentenced to life in prison after leaving her 7-year-old bedridden daughter at home to go out drinking and partying. Lauren Kay Dean admitted to murdering 7-year-old Jordynn Barrera by neglecting vital medical care needed to keep her alive, KTRK reports. In addition to her life sentence, she was given 20 years for two counts of abandonment endangering a child.
- Lauren Kay Dean was arrested on January 31, 2020. Bay City Police officers went to her home to conduct a welfare check that day. Dean invited them in to prove that her kids were well, but they found Jordynn dead, according to court documents obtained by Fox News. “During the check, officers located a deceased 7-year-old female child inside the residence along with the mother of the child,” police said in a statement after the arrest. “The 7-year-old child was bedridden due to medical conditions.”
- Jordynn suffered from multiple serious medical conditions. KTRK reports that the little girl had Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. She was said to be non-communicative and used a feeding tube. Her two siblings, aged 3 and 5, were removed from the home when police found Jordynn dead.
- Authorities took Lauren Kay Dean into custody that day. The mother of three, then 26, was charged with “three separate, second-degree felony charges of Abandon Endanger a Child – Imminent Danger Bodily Injury.” However, her felony abandonment and endangerment charges were later upgraded to capital murder of a person under the age of 10.
- Dean failed to help Jordynn with her basic needs. The Bay City Tribune reported that Dean was accused of failing to care for Jordynn and leaving all three of her small children at home alone while she went out drinking at a local bar. Dean pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty, which she may have received had she fought the charges, the paper reported.
