Atlanta Living category interest

DECATUR, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A DeKalb County woman convicted of child abuse that led to the death of her young son has learned her fate.

On Friday, a DeKalb County Superior Court judge sentenced Malisha Sasfras, of Decatur, to life plus 20 years in confinement in connection to her son’s death, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.

On Feb. 11, 2023, officers with the DeKalb County Police Department responded to Candler Road where they found the 4-year-old boy in critical condition. The child later died at the hospital.

The district attorney’s office says doctors and nurses found extensive injuries on the boy’s body, and an autopsy by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed he died from blunt force trauma to the head from an injury that had likely happened six to eight hours before his death.

Based on the evidence at the scene, authorities determined it to be a case of child cruelty.

The investigation led to the arrest of Sasfras on charges of cruelty to children and felony murder.

Police also arrested a second suspect, Javonte Harris, of Decatur, in connection with the child’s death. On May 9, 2023, a DeKalb County Grand Jury indicted Harris on charges of murder in the second degree and cruelty to children in the second degree.

The case against Harris is still pending, according to the DA.