3-year-old beaten to death: East Hanover mom says she lied for boyfriend
A New Jersey mother faces decades behind bars for helping her boyfriend escape after he allegedly beat her son to death, and then lying to police about it.
Krystal Straw, 29, of East Hanover, pleaded guilty on Thursday to child endangerment, witness tampering, and hampering an investigation, Morristown Green has reported.
Meanwhile, Edwin Urbina, the alleged killer of Straw's 3-year-old son, who turned himself in, is expected to stand trial next month.
According to news reports, Straw left her son and 5-year-old daughter in Urbina's care at an East Hanover hotel room on Aug. 12, 2021, in order to work an overnight shift at a convenience store, despite being aware of past abuse by Urbina towards the young boy.
In the early morning hours of Aug. 13, Urbina called Straw about an emergency and she soon realized that he had killed the boy.
Instead of alerting the authorities, reports say, she helped Urbina clear the hotel room and dropped him off at a residence before showing up at the hospital with her son.
She deleted communication with Urbina from her phone, and told police that she had been with her kids all night, and that the bruising occurred while she was trying to administer CPR, according to a Daily Record report.
Urbina, of Morristown, had allegedly told Straw that she wouldn't get in trouble because she has a clean record. He told her to not tell anyone about his involvement, due to his criminal history.
One day after authorities sought the public's help with locating Urbina, he was taken into custody without incident on Aug. 17 outside the Morris County Records and Administration building in Morristown.
According to Morristown Green, Urbina, who is charged with murder and other offenses in the matter, rejected a plea deal that would have locked him up for 50 years.
Urbina told prosecutors he wouldn't accept any deal for more than 10 years behind bars, the report said.
Straw is scheduled to be sentenced on Mar. 16. Urbina’s next court date, a pretrial conference, is scheduled for Jan. 18, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.
Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com
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