NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A Norfolk mother will spend 30 years behind bars for the death of her 11-year-old daughter, Heaven.
The Medical Examiner’s Office determined the child died from blunt force trauma to her head and torso, after emergency crews pronounced her dead at a home on Balview Avenue in May 2018.
On Friday, Heaven Watkins’ mother, Latoya Smith, was sentenced in Circuit Court to 50 years with 20 years suspended, for homicide and child abuse/neglect. Smith pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2018.
In her first interview with police, Smith denied any abuse, but she changed her story a few months before pleading guilty. Court documents show she confessed to Norfolk detectives that she and Smith not only physically abused Heaven, but at times would only feed her bread and water for days as punishment for acting up at school or home.
The child suffered from cerebral palsy and autism.
Smith’s boyfriend, Demont Harris, was also charged in the case. He pleaded guilty to homicide and two counts of child abuse/neglect this past October and was sentenced to 25 years of active time. Harris is not Heaven’s father.
