Orange County woman pleads guilty to child neglect in toddler son's death

ORLANDO, Fla. — A 24-year-old Orange County woman entered a guilty plea Tuesday in connection with her 3-year-old son's July 2017 death.

Brandi Mokarzel, 24, pleaded guilty to felony child neglect.

She is accused of not protecting Xavier Mokarzel-Satchel from her ex-girlfriend, Lakesha Lewis, and Lewis' mother, Callene Barton, who face murder charges.

Mokarzel told investigators the women struck Xavier and left marks on his body and she never removed him from the environment.

She admitted the abuse happened before she called 911 for help.

Investigators said Xavier was beaten for drinking milk and eating yogurt and was fatally injured when he was thrown down a hallway. %

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Mokarzel faced a maximum of 15 years in prison, but she was sentenced to three years in prison and 15 years of supervised probation on the condition that she testifies against Lewis and Barton.

Lewis' murder trial is scheduled for September 2019.

Barton's case has been put on hold because she was deemed incompetent to stand trial.

Mokarzel must surrender herself at the Orange County Jail by Wednesday afternoon.

Cox Media Group