The mother of a 22-month-old boy beaten to death in 2014 was sentenced for her role in his death Friday.
Selena Strong, 29, of Gary, was sentenced to 20 years in prison with no alternative placement, in the death of her son, Brandon Dillon. In December, Strong pleaded guilty to a neglect of a dependent charge.
In return, Judge Clarence Murray dismissed the remaining charges against her. Strong and her husband, Bernard Dillon, 40, previously faced life without parole.
Dillon was sentenced to 40 years in December.
When asked if she would like to address the court, Strong said she “would just like to apologize to her son, Brandon.”
“I’m not a bad person,” she said. “I made a lot of bad decisions in my life, and I just want a second chance to make it right for me and my children.”
“He certainly did not deserve what happened to him,” Murray said.
Strong and Dillon were charged in 2014 with murder, battery and two counts of neglect of a dependent. The two were arrested after police found Brandon dead Sept. 30, 2014, on an air mattress in the 300 block of West 6th Avenue with a V-shaped head wound and signs of abuse, court records show.
The couple “whooped” Brandon with a belt, a plastic rack from a Hot Wheels toy and an iron because he would get into things and had difficulty potty training, court records state.
Strong told investigators she liked the boy’s twin sister better because he was more annoying, an affidavit states.
Police said the home smelled of urine, and the boy’s twin sister and younger sibling were taken into custody of the Department of Family and Child Services.
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The couple tested positive for cocaine and marijuana after they were arrested, records state.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.