Arizona mom is found guilty of starving her three-year-old son to death and storing his body in a toy box - AFTER he was removed from her custody by child safety officials
- Raquel Barreras, 44, has been found guilty of first degree murder after starving her three-year-old son to death
- The remains of young Roman Barreras were found stuffed in a plastic toy box at her home in Tuscon, Arizona in March 2014
- The child may have been dead for a year prior to the discovery of his bones
- He was removed from his mother shortly after his birth in 2010, but was back with his father a year later
- Raquel Barreras will be sentenced in August, while her husband is set to face trial over Roman's death this summer
Raquel Barreras has been found guilty of first degree murder for starved her three-year-old son to death
An Arizona mother has been found guilty of first degree murder after she starved her three-year-old son to death and stashed his body in a plastic toy box.
Raquel Barreras, 44, of Tuscon, was convicted of the shocking crime on Friday, and will be formally sentenced on July 22.
The remains of her young boy, Roman Barreras, were discovered inside her home by landlords back in March 2014, when they went to clean up the squalid property after she had been evicted.
It's believed Roman died sometime between the spring of 2013 and January 2014.
Barreras plead guilty to the crime, but her defense argued that she was an easy target because she was a drug addicted mother living in poverty.
They also claimed Roman may have had cancer before his death, which could have contributed to his weight loss, according to KGUN.
However, the prosecution alleged Barreras deliberately starved her son and allowed no one to play with, talk to, or feed the boy.
Barreras has four other children, and The Mirror reports that none of them were allowed to have contact with young Roman.
Arizona Department of Child Safety removed Roman (pictured) and three of his older siblings from his parents after his birth in July 2010 due to drug exposure
Roman's body was discovered in this squalid property back in March 2014
However, a number of Roman's siblings testified against their mother at the trial , where they revealed that they would sneak into the family's laundry room to feed their brother crackers.
Arizona Department of Child Safety removed Roman and three of his older siblings from his parents after his birth in July 2010 due to drug exposure.
However, a year later, Roman was back with his father, Martin Barreras.
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He has also been charged with first degree murder, and is scheduled for trial in August.
On Friday, prosecutors implored jurors to deliver a guilty verdict against Raquel Barreras.
'It took Roman a long time to die. We cannot make these things better for Roman. What we can do is bring justice... the justice that Roman deserves'.
Roman's father Martin Barreras is scheduled to go to trial this summer for his role in the child's shocking death
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