Mom who ignored son's desperate texts as his 3-year-old brother died while home alone so she could drink and sleep at boyfriend's house learns her fate

Jennifer Prudencio in court for her sentencing on Sept. 22, 2026 (Law&Crime).

A Massachusetts mother will spend some time behind bars for leaving her children home alone and ignoring desperate texts from her eldest son as her youngest child died — all while she was out drinking.

On Tuesday, Jennifer Prudencio, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of reckless endangerment over the death of her 3-year-old son Yael Guardado-Prudencio.

In quick fashion, the defendant was sentenced to four to six years in prison by Boston Superior Court Judge Joshua Wall. Once Prudencio is released from prison, she will be subject to three years of probation.

The underlying incident occurred in April 2024 at the mother's apartment on Spencer Avenue in Chelsea, a medium-sized city located directly north across the Mystic River from Boston.

On the night in question, Prudencio knew her youngest child was sick. She went out anyway — and stayed out late drinking in nearby Revere.

On Sunday morning, police arrived and the toddler was found unresponsive. The child was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Generally, the child suffered from a seizure disorder and hemophilia and had been vomiting blood in the days prior to his death," Assistant District Attorney Audrey Mark told a judge after the woman's arrest, according to a courtroom report by local ABC affiliate WCVB. "He had also fallen while having a seizure and had a bleeding wound to his face, which was not properly healing. The defendant had brought the child to seek medical care on two occasions over that week."

The only form of supervision the sick 3-year-old had that night was his 8-year-old and 7-year-old siblings, prosecutors noted during the sentencing hearing on Tuesday afternoon.

Before Prudencio went out for the evening, Yael had actually vomited and appeared pale, his mother would later admit to investigators.

"Despite being aware that something was seriously medically wrong with her son, defendant left her son in the care of her two other children, who were then ages 8 and 7," the prosecutor said on Tuesday. "Defendant went out for the night in Revere, drank beer and then slept at her boyfriend's home and didn't return until 10:30 a.m."

Throughout the night, as the child suffered, the woman's 8-year-old repeatedly texted her about his brother's deteriorating condition.

In the messages, the older boy said his little brother was not feeling well and notified their mother that he was vomiting over and over.

At one point, the frantic 8-year-old sent his mother a video of Yael in visible distress and moaning. Finally, Prudencio responded, saying that she would be home soon and telling the 8-year-old to stay with the 3-year-old. But she was not home for another nine hours after that.

"The child was in agony over the course of the night as he died in bed next to his siblings," the prosecutor told the court.

The defense pleaded for leniency before the court, offering a narrative of abuse suffered by Prudencio herself at a young age.

"She at the time of this child's death was in essence a child herself," the defense attorney said. "There's no positive outcome in this case for anyone. Neither for the Commonwealth nor for myself as defense counsel."

The judge, at one point, slightly bristled at the lack of an agreed-upon plea, lecturing the prosecution about the need to know such a posture beforehand and saying the scheduling might have been different so that the court had a fuller appreciation of the facts.

The defense hoped to seize upon that apparent lapse.

"This is a tragedy that began when she was born," the defense attorney said. "Justice has to serve a purpose in this and it's not just about the punishment for this woman's actions but part of justice is correction."

In the end, Wall sentenced Prudencio beyond sentencing guidelines for such crimes in the Bay State. The court agreed with the state that the aggravating factors — the young age of the victim, the level of cruelty involved, and a mother's need to protect her child — necessitated a sentence in excess of three years.

Lauren Silver and Matt Naham contributed to this report.