NEW YORK – Leticia Bravo, 40, of Newburgh, northwest New York, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for her role in the death of her 7-year-old stepson Peter Cuacuas, whom she deprived of food until his death. death, Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced.
The woman pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Marchsaid prosecutor Hoovler. The prison sentence comes just over four months after the boy’s father, Arturo Cuacuas, 54, of Newburgh, pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide.
Cuacuas had allegedly left Peter in the care of Bravo, his girlfriend, when she brought a “lifeless” Peter to Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh on February 10, 2021. The minor weighed only 37 pounds and had died of starvation, the Orange County medical examiner found.
Investigators previously released grim details in late 2021 following an 8-month investigation into the boy’s death. Authorities noted that Bravo had become Peter’s primary caregiver sometime after the start of school in September 2020. She allegedly cared for Cuacuas six days a week at her apartment on William Street in Newburgh.
Prosecutors added that Bravo kept him in a room behind a door that was locked from the outside since January 2021. The boy was allegedly in that room at least six days a week, with Saturday being the only day he was released. allowed to leave, since he and Bravo stayed at his father’s apartment.
Peter was never connected to virtual education, despite numerous conversations between Bravo and Peter’s teachers and other school representatives, according to the prosecutor.
The 5-year-old girl’s mother and her boyfriend were arrested and charged with torture and abuse against Mercedes Losoya, who died in Texas.
Arturo Cuacuas did not live with Bravo during that time, but admitted that in the months before Peter’s death, he visited him once a week and noted his deteriorating condition; however, neither he nor the woman took action to help the child. The boy’s father previously pleaded guilty to one count of criminally negligent homicide in Peter’s death.
“There is no more innocent victim than a child,” Hoovler said. “The facts and circumstances of this case are unimaginable, and the community collectively mourns the loss of Peter Cuacuas. No one deserves the kind of vicious mistreatment suffered by the victim in this case.”
Bravo initially faced 25 years to life in prison when he faced murder and manslaughter charges.
Now that the criminal proceedings against Bravo have concluded, Arturo Cuacuas will face a sentence, since he agreed to testify against him. He faces up to four years in prison, the maximum allowed for criminally negligent homicide charges.
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