Aurora mother sentenced after pleading guilty to her daughter's murder

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

Alexus Nelson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, tampering with a corpse and another criminal charge Wednesday.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colorado — Editor's Note: This article contains disturbing details about the death of a child that may be difficult for some people to read.

An Aurora woman will spend more than 80 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering her daughter last year.

Alexus Nelson, 28, pleaded guilty to three counts and was immediately sentenced Wednesday.

Nelson pleaded guilty to:

second degree murder
alteration of a deceased body
attempt to influence a public official

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Joseph Whitfield sentenced Nelson to 48 years in prison for murder, 24 years for forgery and 12 years for attempted influence. These are the maximum penalties for each charge.

Judge Whitfield ordered the sentences to be served consecutively, meaning Nelson's total sentence is 84 years.

According to the arrest affidavit in the case, the child's grandmother called 911 on May 30, 2023, to ask police to conduct a welfare check on Nelson and Maha Li Hobbs, the daughter of Nelson. The grandmother reported that Nelson made “regarding statements” via text message, the affidavit states.

The grandmother also said she was concerned for Maha Li's safety after not seeing her since May 3, the affidavit states.

Aurora police went to Nelson's apartment, in the 1000 block of South Elkhart Way, and Nelson told police she had given her daughter up for adoption.

When agents contacted the adoption agency Nelson said he used, they told police they had no contact or records with Nelson or his daughter.

Police returned to Nelson's apartment the next day with a search warrant. While searching the apartment, a detective opened a closet door to the patio and recognized the smell of decomposing flesh, the affidavit states.

Inside a bag, police found the charred remains of Maha Li Hobbs, according to a statement from the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Bone fragments in the ashes were also found in Nelson's fireplace, the prosecutor's office said.

“There are many resources and legal avenues for parents to return their children if they are unable to care for them,” said Senior MP Kathleen Tierney. “It is both heartbreaking and appalling that a mother would kill her own child and then make up a false adoption story so the family would believe the child is alive and well.”