Denver District Attorney Beth McCann announced on Wednesday that Elisha Pankey will receive the maximum sentence of 32 years for the death of her 7-year-old son, Caden McWilliams. 

Caden’s body was found encased in concrete inside a dog crate in a Denver storage unit in December 2018.

Pankey pleaded guilty to felony charges of child abuse resulting in death last August for her role in Caden’s death. Caden’s father, Leland Pankey, received the maximum sentence of 72 years for his role in Caden’s death on Feb. 29, 2020. The courts also ordered restitution payments of more than $6,000 from both parents. The sentence will be served in the Department of Corrections with five years mandatory parole, ordered by District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones.

Fox 31 Denver reported in March 2019 that while speaking with a fellow jail inmate, Elisha Pankey said Leland Pankey forced Caden into the animal carrier, and that Elisha would make the child go into the carrier when she took showers. In her arrest affidavit, some time in July of 2018 Elisha Pankey found Caden dead in the animal carrier. After this discovery, the couple apparently took the animal carrier to the storage unit, filled it with concrete and covered it in industrial-strength trash bags, according to court documents.

Autopsy results released in March 2019 showed Caden had evidence of cocaine and methamphetamine in his liver. The child was also found to be malnourished and had signs of abuse, including injuries on his head and body.

“The horrific death of Caden McWilliams shocked the conscience and was incomprehensible to the people of Denver,” McCann said in a statement. “Now that Elisha Pankey has been sentenced, the legal proceedings in this case have concluded. Yet Caden’s story is one that will always be in my heart, the hearts of our incredible prosecutors, victim advocates and investigators, as well as everyone who knew and loved Caden.”

McCann thanked the Aurora and Denver Police Departments for their “dogged and excellent investigative work,” as well as members of her office for finding the “courage and professionalism to see this case through to conclusion.”

“A parent’s job is to above all else, protect his or her child and as a community, we trust that when families go behind their closed doors, children are being loved and cared for,” McCann said. “Elisha Pankey failed in this societal compact so we are grateful to Judge Jones for ordering the appropriate punishment.”