US mother awaits sentence in child abuse case

A doctor testified Monday that the injuries endured by a 2-year-old Dallas girl whose mother glued her hands to a wall and beat her extensively were "shocking." Dr. Amy Barton's testimony came in the sentencing hearing for Elizabeth Escalona, 23, of Dallas, who faces life in prison, although she is eligible for deferred adjudication probation, The Dallas Morning News reported. Escalona was arrested in September 2011 after her daughter, Jocelyn Cedillo, was hospitalized, close to death, at Children's Medical Center of Dallas. She pleaded guilty in July to injury of a child. Photographs taken in the hospital and admitted into evidence by the Dallas County District Attorney's Office showed bruises and what appeared to be bite marks on the child's body, hair torn from her scalp, skin missing from her hands and eyes glued shut, KTVT-TV, Dallas, reported. The girl was in a coma at the hospital for two days, with extensive bruising, brain swelling, fractured bones, swollen intestines, bruised lungs and an injured liver, the newspaper said. "I see a lot of children and this was the most shocking I've seen," Barton, a former child abuse specialist at the hospital, said in court. Doctors said in testimony the girl has recovered well, but would have died had she not received medical attention. Her grandmother took her to the emergency room, the television station said. Police said Escalona was frustrated with her daughter over "potty training issues," and used glue to attach the child's hands to the wall of their apartment. Escalona's punishment was to be determined by by State District Judge Larry Mitchell.