A Minnesota mother has been sentenced to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of her 13-year-old disabled daughter. Elise C. Nelson admitted to turning off her daughter Kylie Larson’s oxygen-monitoring device and allowing the child to die while heavily intoxicated.  

Stearns County District Court Judge Heidi E. Schultz handed down the 22-year (261 months) sentence, ordering Nelson to pay over $12,000 in restitution. Under Minnesota law, Nelson will likely serve 14 ½ years in prison and the remainder on supervised release.  

Prosecutors described the tragic series of events that unfolded over three days in June 2020. Nelson was home alone with Kylie while her husband, the child’s stepfather, was on a fishing trip, and her other child was staying with a family friend. Kylie, who relied on an oxygen-monitoring device to survive, began experiencing drops in oxygen levels two days into Nelson’s care.  

Court records revealed Nelson repeatedly silenced alarms from the monitoring device and manually changed its parameters, allowing Kylie’s oxygen levels to plummet without further warnings. Nelson also turned off the machine several times.  

On June 21, 2020, a family friend tried unsuccessfully to contact Nelson. Concerned, the friend went to the home and found the door locked and shades drawn. Shortly after noon, Nelson texted the friend, saying she had been performing CPR on Kylie for an hour and was waiting for authorities.  

Nelson eventually called 911 at 1:09 p.m. When emergency personnel arrived minutes later, they found Kylie unresponsive on the living room floor. Medics described the child as “cold to the touch,” with signs of blood pooling that indicated she had been dead for several hours.  

Investigators quickly determined Nelson’s account of events did not match the evidence. While Nelson claimed she had started CPR immediately after Kylie’s oxygen levels dropped to 86%, device data showed the machine flatlined at 6:43 a.m., more than six hours before Nelson called 911.  

Authorities also noted Nelson’s phone activity contradicted her claim that she had been performing CPR during that time.  

In a later admission, Nelson confessed to being severely depressed, purchasing a large bottle of vodka, and drinking until she blacked out. She told investigators she did not remember significant portions of the timeline leading up to her daughter’s death.  

Judge Schultz emphasized the seriousness of Nelson’s actions in court, noting that her choices directly led to her daughter’s preventable death. The court credited Nelson with eight days of time served, but the ruling made it clear that the severity of the crime warranted a lengthy sentence.  

The case has left the community grieving the loss of a vulnerable child whose life depended on the care of her parent.  

#MinnesotaCrime #ChildAbuse #JusticeForKylie #ParentalNeglect #TragicLoss #CriminalSentencing #CourtNews  
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