A South Dakota woman made an agreement to plead guilty for the beating death of her toddler son. As part of a deal arranged with federal prosecutors, she’ll receive a second-degree murder conviction.
People reports that Katrina Shangreaux, 30, also referred to as Katrina White Whirlwind, murdered her 2-year-old son, Kylen Shangreaux, on July 28, 2016, after a night of drinking and pill use. She came home to her home in Porcupine and grew outraged when she discovered the little boy wet his bed.
In her written statement, Shangreaux noted that she felt Kylen acted defiantly toward her after wetting the bed, which enraged her further. She admitted she hit and bit him several times, injured his private parts, threw him on the floor, then kicked him in the head and stomach.
She also indicated that Kylen “gave her a sideways look” and called her by the name of his aunt, which apparently sent her over the edge. She wrote she only stopped attacking Kylen when “she saw that he appeared different and realized how badly she had injured him.”
Posted by Sioux Funeral Home on Sunday, July 31, 2016
After the severe beating, Shangreaux said she asked her mother, Sonya Dubray, to help Kylen drink some apple juice, but while trying to drink the juice, the boy fell over and soiled himself. Shangreaux then called for medical help. Paramedics rushed Kylen to Pine Ridge hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Donald Habbe, a physician who conducted the autopsy on Kylen, said the boy had injuries on 70% of his body. His official cause of death was listed at blunt force trauma. The doctor also noted that along with fractured ribs, blood pooled to Kylen’s bruises, which took oxygen away from his organs, according to the Rapid City Journal.
Although authorities initially charged Shangreaux with first-degree murder, child abuse, and neglect, the charges were all dismissed and replaced with a second-degree murder charge as part of the plea deal made with federal prosecutors.
Meanwhile, Shangreaux’s mother is facing charges of accessory to murder and tampering with evidence.
Shangreaux remains behind bars at the Pennington County Jail, awaiting a change of plea hearing scheduled for Friday.
[Feature Photo: Kylen Shangreaux/Facebook]
