Shannon Leigh Elliot, 27, pleaded guilty no contest to charges of aggravated child abuse involving torture in connection to the death of five-year-old Turner Simpkins.

In July of last year, law enforcement and medical personnel were called to a home on Poplar Ridge Road in Chapmansboro and found Turner Simpkins unresponsive at the side deck of the home. Not breathing, bruising, bitemarks, lacerations, and with a body temperature of 86 degrees, he was declared dead after unsuccessful attempts to revive him.

Shannon Elliot, who was the girlfriend of the victim’s father, was found responsible for the injuries after an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office.

Surveillance video from Elliot’s place of work revealed evidence of abuse ranging from hitting, punching, biting, slapping, strangling, and throwing over a period of 79 days from May to July.

The child’s cause of death was determined to be blunt-force trauma injuries and malnutrition.

Presiding Judge David D. Wolfe said to Elliott “Based on what I’ve heard today, it’s unlikely in my opinion that you are ever going to see the outside based on what happened to this child.” Judge Wolfe sentenced her to life in prison and said “It’s my hope that you will serve that for the rest of your life.”