A Loudoun County woman will spend the next eight years in prison for her role in the 2005 death of her 20-month-old daughter.
According to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Vanesa Patricio Cruz of Sterling admitted to picking up Jocelin Gutierrez "hard" and striking her with a remote control. Cruz told investigators she had become "desperate and angry.”
Jocelin died in August 2005, but charges were not filed until earlier this year. Cruz pleaded no contest to the voluntary manslaughter charge in January.
Prosecutors say Cruz, who is in the country illegally, will be sent to her native country of Mexico once she completes her sentence.
