ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The mother of a slain New Mexico teenager has accepted a plea deal that will result in a 12-year prison sentence for child abuse resulting in death.
The Albuquerque Journal reports 36-year-old Tracy Ann Pena must testify against 20-year-old Jordan Nunez who’s awaiting trial in the case.
Nunez is the son of Pena’s former boyfriend. He’s accused of torturing 13-year-old Jeremiah Valencia daily with a homemade spear or a shock collar.
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The teen was found dead in the family group’s Nambé home in November 2017.
Court documents allege Valencia died after Nunez repeatedly flipped over a dog cage that the teen was forced to stay in.
Authorities initially suspected Nunez’s father, 42-year-old Thomas Ferguson, as the one who fatally beat the boy.
Ferguson died in a jail suicide in April.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com
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