Parents plead guilty in death of their 2-year-old son

MADERA, Calif. (AP) — The parents of a 2-year-old boy who was found dead in an orchard days after they reported him missing in 2020 pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter charges in his death, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Briseida Sran and Sukhjinder Sran pleaded guilty Monday to the death of their son Thaddeus, who they reported missing on July 15, 2020. They told police they had last seen him when they put him to bed the previous night.

The Srans were arrested on July 24, 2020, a day after police found the remains of their son, which appeared to have been burned, in an agriculture fire pit in a remote area outside the city of Madera.

Brieseida Sran admitted to the killing of Thaddeus and to the 2015 killing of their 4-month-old daughter, Divina Sran, Madera County District Attorney Sally Moreno said.

Briseida Sran faces 28 years in prison. Her husband, Skhjinder Sran, pleaded guilty to the killing of Thaddeus but there is no evidence he was involved in the killing of Divina, Moreno said. Sukhjinder Sran faces 11 years in prison.

The coroner’s office was not able to determine a cause of death for either child and a motive in their killings remains unknown, Moreno said.

“They are not saying and cannot be required to say,” Moreno said.

Thaddeus was born prematurely and had a feeding tube. He was non-verbal and required special care.

Their daughter, too, had serious medical issues, according to the couple’s attorney, Roger Nuttall.

The couple is scheduled to be sentenced on July 29.