Posted on 05/31/2026 9:11:20 AM PDT by Morgana
A judge in Schenectady County has handed down the maximum sentence of 25 years to life to a mother convicted of the depraved indifference murder of her 11-month-old daughter, Halo Branton.
During the trial, the court reviewed harrowing evidence: video footage showed Nelson placing her infant into a pitch-black, 8-foot-deep hole in freezing conditions and walking away. Despite having 28 minutes to change her course, she left the child to succumb to hypothermia while she sought shelter.
In an emotional sentencing hearing, the court dismantled the defense's argument that this was an accident, citing the defendant's conscious decisions and lack of remorse as the determining factors for the maximum penalty.
The Verdict: 25 years to life. Justice for Baby Halo.
Video is less than 2 minutes
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
Such stuff defies description. How depraved do you have to be to murder your own infant? I would have given her the same thing she gave the child rather than 3 hots and a cot for the rest of her miserable life.
Judge: “You were there. Till the very end.”
Judge references a video but hard to tell which video he is referencing.
“I would have given her the same thing she gave the child”
How? New York doesn’t have the death penalty.
I’m with you on this one.

Baby Halo's killer mom.
Good on this judge.
After discarding her baby she returned to a campus warm spot. Baby lived about 24 hours in the cold anfpd died at the hospital.
Very unusual. Not sure if it was a jury trial,or they risked it on a judge alone, cant tell from the video. Probably jury. Need more outcomes like this, especially for womem who only get 1/3 the sentence times men get for the same crimes. If they get a sentence with prison time at all.
Dante Gregory (Boyfriend): Halo’s father, who was present at the family gathering the night of the incident.
Allegra Gregory (Potential Mother-in-law): Dante’s mother, who was among the family members at the gathering and assisted in searching for Nelson and the baby.
https://www.google.com/search?q=persia+nelson+family
Breaks my heart knowing how many loving homes would have loved to have raised that poor baby.
What an evil monster. I’m surprised she didn’t get off on an insanity plea.
That should have been first-degree murder. And then he ran the sentence concurrently.
No 900K New Yawk “reparations” check for you, you nasty skanky baby murderer.
COULD HAVE TURNED CHILD IN AT FIRE STATION.
Special place in Hell department...
Immurement is just punishment in some cases. Like this one.
Lady stuck her kid in a freezing cold hold and left the poor child for dead? Fine. Take this woman, brick her up inside tiny box and leave her to starve.
It should have been murder in the first degree, and following her trial and conviction, the murdering mother should have been sentenced to being placed into a pitch-black, 8-foot-deep hole in freezing conditions, and left there.
YES
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