PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. - The woman charged in the 2018 death of her 2-year-old son, Jordan Belliveau, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 50 years in prison.

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Charisse Stinson entered the plea Tuesday morning. She also pleaded guilty to making a false report to a law enforcement officer.

The 23-year-old made a statement to the judge before pleading guilty. She told the judge she’s changed. She also apologized to the Belliveau family for the pain she caused.

“For a while, I was so angry and bitter before I came to jail. And now I’m free mentally. I may not be free physically. But I want my mom to know that I am free mentally. I am not held in bondage anymore, and that is the greatest gift that God has given me. And I thank my son for that. Because I was lost for a long time. And I just want to say thank you to everybody that has supported me. Thank you to my attorneys that have supported me and thank you for my mom for birthing me. For allowing me to go through this. Because I needed this to change,” Stinson said.

Stinson’s mom, Mary Washington, also addressed the judge. She told him her daughter was remorseful and regretted what she did. 

“My daughter is not the monster that she has been painted to be. She loved her son. I know she loved her son,” Washington said.

The case made state and national headlines. Two-year-old Jordan Belliveau was found dead in a wooden area of Largo on September 4, 2018 after Stinson had reported him missing.

She originally told Largo police that she had accepted a ride from a man who she said had kidnapped Jordan. Police sent out an AMBER Alert; however, Jordan was found dead a few days later.

Stinson later told police that she hit Jordan, causing his head to hit a wall and resulting in a seizure.

Jordan died a few hours later. The medical examiner determined the cause of death was from blunt force trauma.