Tennessee woman receives life sentence for death of boyfriend's five-year-old son – Crime Online

A Tennessee woman has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to murder and child abuse charges in connection with the death of her boyfriend's five-year-old son.

Turner Simpkins was found dead in his Chapmansboro home in July 2023, The Tennessean reported. An autopsy found bruises, cuts on his body and bite marks on his hands. Rescue workers found the boy cold, lifeless and limp to the touch, with a body temperature of 30 degrees.

Shannon Leigh Elliott told investigators that he was alive and conscious an hour before paramedics arrived at the scene of the accident.

Elliott explained the boy's injuries in several ways: He got a black eye when he fell at her workplace and scratches on his leg while riding his bike, she said. On another occasion, he unbuckled his car seat, opened the car door and fell out as the car was traveling 25 miles per hour. He told her he was not injured, she said.

Elliott was charged in March, and on July 30 he entered a no contest plea.

According to Smokey Barn News, investigators said the child suffered chronic blunt force trauma and was malnourished. They told Judge David D. Wolfe in court that the boy's stomach was bloated and blue, his face was covered in bruises and he had cuts on his hands, legs and arms. He was also bleeding internally.

Prosecutors said they found video surveillance footage from Elliott's employer that showed her interacting with the boy over a period of about 79 days. On at least 40 of those days, she was seen abusing the boy. Investigators with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation described the video, saying they saw Elliot slap, punch, kick, bite and strangle the boy.

The coroner determined the cause of death to be multiple acute blunt force injuries and malnutrition.

In addition to the life sentence for murder, Elliott was sentenced to two 20-year terms for aggravated child abuse with torture. The sentences must be served concurrently with the life sentence, and she will be ineligible for parole for 51 years.

“From what I've heard today, I think it's unlikely you'll ever see the outside world, given what happened to this child,” Wolfe told the defendant. “I've sentenced people to life in prison in other, more serious cases, such as a death penalty case. I've never heard a more horrific presentation of the facts in my entire life. I've also heard nothing that I could imagine that this child went through, so I'm sentencing you to life in prison. I hope you serve that sentence for the rest of your life.”

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[Featured image: Shannon Leigh Elliott/Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office and Turner Simpkins/Facebook]