Tiffany Toribio pleads guilty

Courtesy of Emily Apodaca

Tyrus and Tiffany Toribio

In October, we spoke with Emily Apodaca, aunt of the toddler that was found buried in playground sand in 2009. Apodaca’s sister, Tiffany Toribio, had confessed to smothering her son. The article questions whether the struggling mother sent distress signals to police and city services before the child’s death.

When Marjorie Childress wrote the report for the Alibi, Toribio was undergoing psychological evaluations. Her defender, Lelia Hood, was planning to pursue a “not guilty by reason of insanity” defense.

This morning, Toribio opted instead to plead guilty to suffocating her son at Alvarado Park. She will likely do 33 years.