A Virginia woman was sentenced on Monday to 55 years in prison for the 2019 murder of her 2-year-old son.
Julia Leanna Tomlin, 37, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder, concealing a dead body and felony child abuse, The Virginian-Pilo t reported. She declined to speak when the judge asked if she had anything to say at the sentencing hearing.
Tomlin reported her 2-year-old son, Noah, missing June 24, 2019, from her trailer in the Buckroe Beach area. Police said she told them the boy must have been abducted sometime between when she put him to bed and then checked on him about 10 hours later.
A 10-day search ended when the boy's remains were found in a cardboard box at a trash incinerator. Authorities said she had claimed she’d been using heroin the day Noah died and that he drowned after she left him unattended in the bathtub. She told investigators she later placed his body in a diaper box, wrapped it in garbage bags and asked a friend to get rid of it.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
A medical examiner found several long-term injuries on the toddler and ruled he died from blunt-force head trauma and battered child syndrome.
