BLOOMINGTON – Monroe Circuit Court Judge Christine Talley Haseman on Friday sentenced 27-year-old Dayana Medina-Flores to the maximum sentence of 65 years in prison for the May 2019 starvation death of 12-year-old Eduardo Posso.
Median Flores pleaded guilty to the murder.
Eduardo was chained, beaten, and shocked with an electric dog collar, then left alone in the bathroom of the Economy Inn in Bloomington for weeks.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Eduardo was brought unconscious to the hospital by his father 34-year-old Luis Eduardo Posso Jr at 2:52 a.m. on May 24 and was pronounced dead at 3:05 a.m.
Posso initially told officers Eduardo fell in the shower the day before and sustained a bump on the back of his head that bled. He said he cleaned the wound, but was later awakened by the sound of the boy struggling to breathe shortly before being transported to the hospital.
Hospital officials say Eduardo showed multiple signs of abuse and starvation. The boy was severely emaciated and weighed only 50 to 55 pounds, according to Coroner Joni Shields. She ruled he died of starvation saying he was “severely emaciated” and had bruises all over his body.
Police examined the couples’ phones and found videos of Eduardo restrained in a bathtub at Economy Inn. The video shows the couple’s children and Flores coming and going in and out of the bathroom, but they were not paying attention to the boy. Posso even took a selfie in the bathroom with his son restrained in the background, police said.
Posso Jr. remains in the Monroe County Jail on charges of murder, neglect of a dependent resulting in death, neglect of a dependent with cruel confinement, criminal confinement with bodily injury, and battery resulting in bodily injury.
He faces life behind bars without the chance of parole. His September trial has been postponed, no new trial date has been set.
Their three other children, a 9-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy, and a 2-year-old boy, were placed in the care of Child Protection Services. Officials say they appeared to be healthy and showed no signs of abuse.
The family who was from Florida were in Bloomington working as contractors distributing flyers promoting the Cirque Italia’s Big Top Gold Water Circus.
