- January 7, 2026
A Daytona Beach woman was sentenced to 32 years in prison after she pled no contest to the aggravated manslaughter of her 14-year-old son.
Talia Nelson’s son died on Jan. 1, 2024 and weighed just 33 pounds. He was severely malnourished, dehydrated, and had fresh bruises on his face and scars across his torso, back and legs, according to a press release from the State Attorney’s Office.
Nelson was sentenced during a hearing on Jan. 5. She pled no contest to aggravated manslaughter of a child and aggravated child abuse. She told investigators that her son had a rare bone disease, lactose intolerance, and bulimia, but investigators found she had not taken her son to a doctor since June 2020, the press release said.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza said the case brought tears to his eyes.
“It is incomprehensible for a mother to neglect and torture her own flesh and blood to the extent we uncovered in this case,” he said. “How could she watch her son suffer for weeks and months and years until he weighed less than a typical 7-year-old child? Heartless and cruel are words that come to mind. May he rest in peace, and may she be forever haunted by her brutal and vicious crime.”
