AURORA, Colo. (TCD) — A 28-year-old mother will spend over eight decades behind bars after police found the charred remains of her missing daughter, as well as bone fragments inside her apartment in 2023.
The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced June 12 that a judge sentenced Alexus Nelson to 84 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of her daughter, 5-year-old Maha Li, as well as tampering with a deceased body and attempting to influence a public servant. As part of the plea, Nelson cannot appeal her sentence.
According to prosecutors, on May 30, 2023, Li’s grandmother called the Aurora Police Department after she hadn’t seen or heard from the young girl in around three weeks. Officers contacted Nelson, who told them she “had given her child up for adoption through an adoption agency.” However, police could not substantiate the claims. The adoption agency had never spoken with Nelson, nor did they have a case file with her or Li.
Police executed a search warrant at Nelson’s apartment the following day. According to the district attorney’s office, a detective noticed an “odor of decomposing flesh” from inside a closet on the patio. Authorities reportedly found a bag inside containing the charred human remains of Li. They also discovered bone fragments in ashes in the fireplace.
Aurora Chief of Police Art Acevedo said, “It was tough to see our cops that had to find that little angel in the condition they found her in.”
District Attorney John Kellner said following the sentencing, “This mother knew about available adoption programs that could have cared for this 5-year-old but instead, she chose murder. While there is no way to fully comprehend what turned this mother into a monster, she deserves to spend several decades behind bars for the unspeakable crime she committed.”