The mother of a Fitchburg, Massachusetts, boy whose body was discovered in a suitcase off a highway has pleaded guilty to charges of child abuse and child endangerment in connection with her two other children.
Elsa Oliver pleaded guilty Tuesday to assault and battery and two counts of reckless endangerment of a child, according to the Worcester County district attorney.
The charges stem from incidents involving two of her three children. She was sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison.
Her other child, Jeremiah Oliver, went missing in 2013. His remains were found on April 18, 2014, in a suitcase off Interstate 190 in Sterling. His death was ruled a homicide.
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A nolle prosequi, or a formal notice of prosecutors dropping all or part of a legal action, was filed for Oliver Tuesday on other counts she was facing in connection with Jeremiah’s death, including kidnapping of a child, assault and battery, permitting bodily injury to a child, and reckless endangerment of a child. The nolle prosequi was filed to allow officials to continue to investigate the death and avoid potential double jeopardy.
Oliver’s boyfriend, Alberto Sierra, pleaded guilty last week to charges also stemming from the abuse of Oliver’s two other children. A nolle prosequi was also filed for Sierra on the counts involving Jeremiah Oliver’s death.
Sierra was sentenced to six to seven years in prison.
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Jeremiah Oliver’s death remains under investigation.
