BOSTON (Court TV) — A 28-year-old Massachusetts mother stood before a judge Tuesday and admitted she left her three young children home alone for hours, ignoring their pleas for help as one of them lay dying. Jennifer Prudencio changed her plea to guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of reckless endangerment, according to www.courttv.com.
The charges stem from an incident in 2024 that left her 3-year-old son, Yael Guardado-Prudencio, dead. Court TV reported that the boy had a history of medical issues, including hemophilia and seizures.
Prosecutors said Prudencio left the three children — the victim and his brothers, aged 8 and 7 — unattended at their home. During the hours she was away, the younger brothers called and texted their mother, pleading for her to come home because the 3-year-old was unresponsive and not breathing.
Prudencio did not return promptly. The boys' desperate messages went unanswered, according to court reports. It was only when she finally came home that she found the child in distress, but it was too late. The 3-year-old was pronounced dead.
In court on Tuesday, Prudencio stood silently as the judge accepted her guilty plea. The involuntary manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, though the actual sentence will be determined at a later hearing. The three reckless endangerment counts each carry up to 2.5 years, according to Massachusetts law, though the judge will decide whether those run concurrently or consecutively.
Defense attorneys did not offer a public statement after the hearing, and no sentencing date was announced in court. Court TV reported that Prudencio remains in custody pending the sentencing hearing.
The case has drawn attention not only for the tragic outcome but for the ages of the children left alone. The 8- and 7-year-old brothers were old enough to understand that their sibling was dying, yet too young to do anything more than call and text their mother, prosecutors said.
What remains unknown is why Prudencio left the children alone that day, and why she did not respond to their calls and messages. Court TV did not report a motive, and no explanation was offered in court. The source material does not indicate whether she had left the children alone before, or what she was doing during the hours she was away.
Also unclear is the exact timeline — how long she was gone, when the boys first contacted her, and how much time passed between their first plea and her arrival home. Investigators have not released those details publicly.
The next step is the sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled. Prudencio faces up to 20 years on the manslaughter charge alone. Her attorney has not indicated whether an appeal is planned.
For now, the family — and the two boys who tried to save their brother — are left with a loss that no sentence can undo. The case serves as a grim reminder of the responsibilities that come with parenthood, and the consequences when those duties are abandoned.