Mom Dropped Infant Down 8 Foot Tunnel on Industrial Research Campus, Now Learns Fate for Murder

A New York judge has sentenced a woman to prison months after a jury convicted her of killing her 11-year-old child at an industrial research site.

Halo Nelson was found “inside a utility tunnel structure” on the General Electric campus in Schenectady, New York, on March 11, 2024. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died.

Her mother, Persia Nelson, was convicted in October on charges including murder, manslaughter, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to WNYT, News 10, and the Times Union.

On Monday, Feb. 2, a Schenectady County judge sentenced Persia Nelson to 25 years to life in prison for her daughter’s death, News 10, The Daily Gazette, and the Times Union reported.

Halo’s disappearance initially triggered an AMBER alert. Soon after, authorities found her body at the bottom of an industrial pipe, partially submerged in water.

“The baby was dropped into this utility tunnel from the height of about eight feet to the bottom of the tunnel, where there was standing water,” Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney said at the time.

Investigators later located Persia at a building on the same campus and arrested her.

At sentencing, Judge Matthew Sypniewski described Halo’s final moments in stark terms.

“Unfortunately for Halo, the reality is that she suffered. She spent her final moments in a dark hole …when her mother was right there above her, right there, hearing her suffer, hearing her cry — cries for help that she never answered,” he said, according to the Times Union.

An obituary posted shortly after Halo’s death remembered her as a bright presence in her family’s life.

“Even though Halo was with us for a short period of time, she brought so much love and joy to her family and a host of others, who loved and adored every moment she spent with them,” it read.

“Halo’s eyes and smile would light up every room she ever entered and would melt anybody’s heart whoever laid eyes on her,” her family said.

During the sentencing, Persia Nelson appeared overcome with emotion, News 10 reported. Through tears, she apologized to her family, including her son, Halo’s father, and her daughter.

She also said she was taking responsibility for what happened and would carry the weight of her actions for the rest of her life.