TAMPA, Fla. — A west-central Florida woman who pleaded guilty to fatally beating her 4-year-old son received a 40-year prison sentence, prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Arayia L. Hudson, 38, of Tampa, accepted the plea deal on Aug. 19 to a charge of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, WFLA reported.
The possibility of a death sentence was taken off the table when Hudson agreed to the deal, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
As a condition of the plea deal, Hudson will be required after she serves her sentence to undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment, along with taking an anger management course, the newspaper reported.
She will also be barred from visiting or working in a school, childcare facility or any other place where children gather.
According to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office online booking records, Hudson was arrested on July 1, 2024.
Police responded to a 911 call in the Sulphur Springs neighborhood of Tampa at about 4:30 a.m. ET on June 29 and discovered Hudson trying to revive her unconscious son, WFLA reported. The boy, named Joseph, was taken to an area hospital and was pronounced dead later in the day, according to the television station.
A medical examiner later determined that Joseph had several injuries, including bruises on his forehead, discoloration of his eyes and other marks on the boy’s torso and buttocks, the Times reported. Medical officials also found swelling on the child’s brain, along with severe injuries to his liver, stomach and other internal organs, according to the newspaper.
The boy’s cause of death was determined to be blunt trauma to the head and torso, according to WFLA.
Joseph lived at home with his two older half-brothers, who are 9 and 14, the Times reported. According to court records, they told detectives that Hudson struck and kicked their half-sibling several times.
One boy did not want to talk to officers because he did not want his mother to go to jail, according to the newspaper. The other boy said he helped Hudson discipline the boy, holding his arms while she struck him with a shoe.
One of the boys said he was hesitant to talk because he “didn’t want his mom to go to jail,” court records state. The other boy said he’d helped his mother discipline the 4-year-old by holding his arms while she hit him with a shoe.
Hudson claimed that while hitting Joseph, he hit his head against a bathroom wall, the Times reported.
She was originally charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
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