Mother Sentenced After Beating Baby To Death, Claiming Abduction

MAYWOOD, IL — A suburban Chicago woman who reported that her 1-year-old son had been kidnapped but was later accused of killing the boy has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Lakeshia Baker pleaded guilty Thursday to murder in the April 2013 death of Bryeon Hunter. The boy's body was found by a kayaker on the Des Plaines River a month after he was killed.

• Body Found in Des Plaines River Believed to be Missing 1-Year-Old
  
• Mother Says She Was Beaten, Child Abducted

Prosecutors say the 27-year-old Baker of Maywood beat her son to death with a belt as her boyfriend restrained the child and placed his hand over the boy's mouth to muffle his screams. When they realized the child had died, they dumped his body in the river and faked a kidnapping to cover it up.

Baker's boyfriend, Michael Scott, was charged with murder. His case is pending.

Photo: Bryeon Hunter/Patch file via Maywood Police Department