Mom Brought Toddler Daughter to Hospital Claiming She Had the Flu — But Medical Staff Made Horrific Discoveries

A Texas mother has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for failing to protect her 2-year-old daughter from deadly abuse.

Sarah Elizabeth Newsom pleaded guilty on Monday, Nov. 10, to one count of injury to a child by failing to prevent serious bodily harm or death, according to the 97th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. She also waived her right to appeal.

District Attorney Katie Boggeman told KFDX that the plea delivered some sense of justice: “As a mom, I don’t know any amount of time is enough, but it was the right move for our county and to finally let that baby rest in peace.”

Authorities say Newsom’s friend, Joshua Fulbright, brutally beat the child at a Clay County home on Oct. 18, 2018. The young girl, Olivia, died five days later after being removed from life support at Cook Children’s Hospital, the Wichita Falls Times Record News reported. Court records state that Newsom was present during the attack.

Fulbright was convicted of capital murder in March. During his trial, a witness — a former EMT and ER technician — testified that Newsom brought Olivia to the hospital wrapped in a blanket and allegedly claimed the child had the flu, according to KFDX. The witness said Olivia was covered in bruises, noting there was “not a surface on the child that had no injuries.”

Newsom reportedly told medical staff that her daughter had fallen out of the bathtub, the witness added.

A former investigator from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office testified that he and another officer interviewed Fulbright in the emergency room waiting area. Fulbright allegedly said he became enraged after discovering the child in a dirty diaper and admitted he “was sent over the edge by the way Olivia smelled and how dirty she was,” according to the outlet.

Fulbright was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in March, per the Times Record News.