Colorado mother sentenced to 84 years in prison for death of 5-year-old

DENVER (KDVR) — A woman pleaded guilty to three charges ahead of a jury trial scheduled for later this year, leading to her sentencing Wednesday in the death of her 5-year-old daughter.

The girl's remains were found in an Aurora apartment in 2023.

Alexus Nelson, 28, was convicted of second-degree murder, tampering with a deceased person and attempting to influence a public official. She was sentenced Wednesday to 48 years, 24 years and 12 years respectively for those charges, and the sentences will run consecutively.

Two charges were dropped due to a plea, according to court documents: child abuse knowingly causing death and first-degree murder of a victim younger than 12 and in a position of trust. Because Nelson agreed to plead guilty under a plea agreement, she is not eligible to appeal.

“This mother was aware of available adoption programs that could have cared for this 5-year-old child, but she chose murder,” prosecutor John Kellner said in a statement. “While there is no way to fully understand what turned this mother into a monster, she deserves to spend several decades behind bars for the unspeakable crime she committed.”

The affair started with a welfare check in 2023

The case began in May 2023 when the 5-year-old girl's grandmother asked the Aurora Police Department to conduct a welfare check on her granddaughter and Nelson after learning that Nelson had possibly be given the child for adoption. According to an arrest affidavit, Nelson told officers she had a “closed adoption” through a Colorado adoption agency.

Agents contacted two agencies Nelson may have used to facilitate an adoption, but no legal adoption records could be found. At that time, Nelson also allowed detectives to look at the photos on his phone, but “it became immediately apparent that there were no photos of (the child) in his phone,” according to the affidavit.

“There are many resources and legal avenues for parents to return their children if they are unable to care for them,” Senior Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Tierney said in a statement. “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.”

After that, officers obtained a search warrant for the apartment and found that the unit was “completely empty and the carpet was extremely dirty with various stains of unknown origin,” according to the arrest affidavit. Officers also reported finding a closet containing “various children's items” and a “large shopping bag with a plastic bag inside.”

They also obtained a search warrant for Nelson's phone which contained searches from earlier this month stating “can you overdose on melatonin?” “” and “can you overdose on Xanax?” » Detectives also said there were videos showing the child on her camera roll where she appeared to be saying goodbye to her family.

After examining the contents of the bag, investigators discovered that they were charred human remains. They also found bone fragments inside the fireplace of Nelson's apartment.

According to the affidavit, the last time anyone saw the 5-year-old alive was May 2, 2023, during video calls with Nelson's family.