Jefferson County woman who drowned developmentally-disabled grandson sentenced to 20 years

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. – The woman who drowned her developmentally-disabled grandson in a motel bathtub last year was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday.

Onesia Najera will also have to serve at least 5 years of parole once her sentence is completed on child abuse resulting in death charges.

Najera ran a bath for her 10-year-old grandson last May, then left the room. When she came back, the boy had drowned in the tub.

The boy had cerebral palsy, and his special education teacher told police the boy “appeared very emaciated and malnourished” about a month before his death.

Najera and a neighbor allegedly tried to resuscitate the boy, but were not successful.

Najera also allegedly worked as a prostitute and abused several of the boy’s siblings, according to her arrest affidavit.

The boy’s paternal grandfather tried to adopt the boy in 2007 after Najera was accused of neglecting the boy, but he says Human Services allowed the boy to return to her custody.

His grandfather said the boy couldn’t feed himself, walk or talk.