Life, no parole for Edwin Urbina after 3-year-old's hotel murder

🔴 A NJ man gets life in prison for the beating death of a 3-year-old boy

🔴 After passing on an earlier plea deal, he was convicted by a jury of aggravated murder

🔴 The boy’s mom, who pleaded guilty to child endangerment, also gets prison

A man found guilty of beating a toddler to death in a Morris County hotel has been ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison — while the child’s mother was sentenced to a total of 18 years.

On Thursday, 29-year-old Edwin Urbina, formerly of Morristown, was denied the possibility of parole under the sentence handed down in Morris County Superior Court.

A 3-year-old boy, id'ed by family as Liam Christian, was beaten to death at a hotel in 2021 (GoFundMe via Demi Shelton)

Krystal Straw, also 29, previously pleaded guilty to putting her children in harm's way and lying to police about the horrific events on Aug. 13, 2021.

The sentence she received separately on Thursday was consecutive terms - with five years of parole ineligibility, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll.

The child's 2021 beating death happened at an East Hanover hotel (Google Maps)

Prosecutor says ‘justice’ for three-year-old Liam

Just over two weeks ago, Urbina was convicted by a jury of aggravated murder, an upgraded charge due to the boy being just 3 years of age.

Jurors found that Urbina had beaten the young child in a room at the OYO Hotel in East Hanover, where the couple, the toddler and a then 5-year-old sibling had been living.

When Straw left work early and came back to the grim scene, she worked to hide Urbina’s involvement before eventually taking her son for medical help.

“These sentencings bring to a close this terrible and tragic crime. Justice has finally been done for little 3 year old Liam,” Carroll said in a written release on Thursday.

Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

Up or down? Average property tax changes in NJ in 2022

Below are the average property tax bills for every municipality in New Jersey last year.

The towns are listed from the biggest cut in the average bill to the highest increase. On the county maps, the deeper red color means a higher increase above 2% whereas the darker green signifies a smaller increase or a reduction.

Each listing also shows how the average tax bill is split among the county, school and municipal governments.

Weird things NJ taxes - and some they don't

In general, New Jersey assesses a 6.625% Sales Tax on sales of most tangible personal property, specified digital products, and certain services unless specifically exempt under New Jersey law.

However, the way the sales tax is applied in New Jersey sometimes just doesn't make sense.

New Jersey puts out an itemized list for retailers that spells out what is, and what is not, taxed.

Perhaps because this is New Jersey, there are some bizarre and seemingly contradictory listings.

The most Irish towns in New Jersey

Using most recent five-year data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey, we plotted the municipalities in New Jersey with the highest percentage of residents claiming Irish descent. Take a look!

LOOK: Here is the richest town in each state

Just saying the names of these towns immediately conjures up images of grand mansions, luxury cars, and ritzy restaurants. Read on to see which town in your home state took the title of the richest location and which place had the highest median income in the country. Who knows—your hometown might even be on this list.

Source: NJ man gets life in prison for toddler’s murder — boy’s mom gets 18 years

Filed Under: crime, east hanover, Morris County, Morristown

Categories: New Jersey News