Texan Mayra Rosales proved innocent of murdering her two-year-old nephew

Sep 22, 2012 09:23 GMT  ·  By

A new documentary about the life of presumed killer Mayra Rosales is set to clear her name. TLC's Half-Ton Killer tells the truth about the trial of the then 31-year-old obese woman from Texas who confessed to causing the death of her two-year-old nephew, Eliseo Jr.

The 1,100 lb (498 kg) woman claimed she was babysitting her nephew when she accidentally rolled on top of him and smothered him to death, the Daily Mail reports.

“I told the investigators that I rolled over to the edge of my bed to where Junior was and my hand slipped and I fell on him with my hand. I fell. I was the one to blame. But only by accident,” she had said to arresting officers at the time.

Attorney Sergio Valdez set out to prove her innocence. After the cause of death was investigated, forensic reports proved that the little boy had, in fact, died of a blow to the head.

Valdez revealed the fact that the half ton woman was entirely bed-ridden at the time. Walking was a struggle in itself, and moving her arms in a way that would allow her to strike her nephew was simply impossible.

The walls of her house had to be taken down in order to allow her to testify in court. She was moved by a team of doctors, and rode in an ambulance.

As the facts started to come to light, Mayra told the truth about the death of her nephew. She reported she was a witness to many acts of abuse from her sister. Jaime Rosales had repeatedly struck Eliseo and her other three children on different occasions.

“I told her if he was crying he wasn’t going to eat, but she got mad, got a brush and hit him on his arms, legs and head which left a bump. Afterwards, she got his Winnie the Pooh blanket, covered him up and put him to bed. Then she went out, leaving me with the children,“ Mrs. Rosales said.

That was, literally, the final blow. That night little Eliseo Jr started having difficulty breathing. Mayra called an ambulance but it was too late.

Facing allegations of abuse, Jaime asked her sister to confess to murdering Eliseo, and spare her from having her other children removed by authorities.

“I thought I was dying anyway so I decided to admit that I’d done it to protect my sister because I love her,” Mayra said.

After her sister stopped lying for her, Jaime Rosales was sentenced to 15 years in jail. Her remaining children are currently being looked after by their grandmother.