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SANDY, Utah, May 15, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A woman has been sentenced for the abuse and 2019 death of her son, 6-year-old Norlin Cruz.
Reyna Flores-Rosales was sentenced Monday to:
- Five years to life in the Utah State prison for reckless child abuse homicide, a first-degree felony
- One to 15 years each for two counts of intentional child abuse, a second-degree felony
- Zero to five years for reckless aggravated child abuse, a third-degree felony
The Third District judge ruled the sentences will run consecutively.
“Children are vulnerable and rely upon the adults around them for safety and protection,” says a prepared statement released by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
“This defendant abused her child with intentional, heinous, and repeated violence. The level of callous, humiliating, and gratuitous violence inflicted here demanded the most severe punishment. No one who was a part of this prosecution was left unmoved by what was revealed through the investigation and prosecution. Today’s sentence is what we as a community can do for the tragic loss of Norlin’s life. No amount of time will be long enough for the crime this defendant committed and the manner in which she did it. My office will send a letter to the Board of Pardons and Parole requesting Ms. Flores-Rosales be kept in prison as long as possible.”
Sandy City police and fire officials responded to the scene on Feb. 25, 2019, and found Norlin with a weak pulse and not breathing. He was flown to Primary Children’s Hospital, where he was found to have new and partially healed injuries. The child was found to have “a large, severe, full thickness burn to his entire buttocks region,” charging documents say, adding Norlin had numerous additional burns on his extremities, several old scars, bruises and swelling on the forehead, scars on his neck, open sores, and bleeding from his nostrils.
X-rays showed a healing 11th rib fracture and left scapula fracture. A subdural hemorrhage resulted in swelling of the brain, the doctor said, adding “The swelling caused a lid-line shift of the brain, which ultimately resulted in N.C.’s death. N.C. never regained consciousness.”
The child was declared brain dead two days after being transported.
“Norlin was a child that only had his foster family left to mourn him when he died from the wounds inflicted by his own mother,” Gill’s statement continues. “Our condolences go out to those who loved this young child. This is one of the worst cases of child abuse that I have seen in nearly 28 years as a prosecutor.
“We applaud the judge who delivered the consecutive sentences through tear-filled eyes and said he would personally write the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole saying Ms. Flores-Rosales should never get out of prison.”
Gill also thanked lead prosecutors Melanie Serassio, Richard Pehrson, Andres Gonzalez, and their support staff. He also thanks Sandy Police and “specifically Detective Cori Biggs who went back over 20 times for follow-up requested from our prosecutors.”
