--- description: A mother, whose 5-year-old was found dead in a suitcase two years ago, pleaded guilty to abusing and endangering her two surviving children title: Mother of Killed Child Pleads Guilty to Abusing Other Kids image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee6fa9633f04545e/6988d930fb4eac0c188933f7/gettyimages-460237163.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Crime](/tag/crime/) ## Crime Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Woman Whose Son Was Found Dead Pleads Guilty to Abusing Surviving Children by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 10, 2017 12:34 PM CUT  Jose Oliver visited a memorial of toys and candles set up in front of 276 Kimball Street in Fitchburg after the disappearance of his son, Jeremiah Oliver. Jose Oliver visited a memorial of toys and candles set up in front of 276 Kimball Street in Fitchburg after the disappearance of his son, Jeremiah Oliver.Photograph by Aram Boghosian—Getty/The Boston Globe by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 10, 2017 12:34 PM CUT A mother whose 5-year-old was found dead in a suitcase along a [Massachusetts](http://www.thedrive.com/news/8955/trucker-on-drugs-drives-non-stop-from-seattle-to-massachusetts "undefined") highway two years ago has pleaded guilty to abusing and endangering her two surviving children. Elsa Oliver is no longer facing charges related to the disappearance and death of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, but pleaded guilty to assault and battery and two counts of reckless endangerment to her two surviving children, [Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early’s office said.](http://worcesterda.com/oliver-pleads-guilty-child-abuse-endangerment/ "undefined") She was sentenced to serve seven and a half years in prison for the charges. Elsa Oliver was initially facing additional charges related to Jeremiah Oliver’s case including [kidnapping](http://time.com/4016636/macau-kidnapping-gambling-casino-china-abductions-insurance-corruption/ "undefined") of a child, assault and battery, permitting bodily injury to a child and reckless endangerment of a child. Her former boyfriend Alberto L. Sierra Jr. also saw his charges in the previous case dropped. Sierra pleaded guilty to three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault and battery and two counts of reckless endangerment for assaulting the children and Elsa Oliver. The district attorney’s office said the “investigation remains active and ongoing.” “The current charges involving the defendant and Jeremiah Oliver were ended at this time to allow the death investigation to continue and to eliminate a possible double jeopardy claim in connection with his death,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a release. Jeremiah Oliver’s case led to a shake-up in Massachusetts’ Department of Children and Families at the time. Three employees were fired for alleged [negligence](http://time.com/3854198/al-jazeera-journalist-sues-negligence-imprisonment/ "undefined") in handling the case and then-commissioner Olga Roche resigned. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4895057/woman-whose-son-was-found-dead-pleads-guilty-to-abusing-surviving-children/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4895057/woman-whose-son-was-found-dead-pleads-guilty-to-abusing-surviving-children/"},"headline":"Woman Whose Son Was Found Dead Pleads Guilty to Abusing Surviving Children","datePublished":"2017-08-10T12:34:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:56:20.847Z","description":"Her charges for the death of her son were dropped, but investigation is ongoing","url":"https://time.com/4895057/woman-whose-son-was-found-dead-pleads-guilty-to-abusing-surviving-children/","keywords":["Crime","Massachusetts","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee6fa9633f04545e/6988d930fb4eac0c188933f7/gettyimages-460237163.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee6fa9633f04545e/6988d930fb4eac0c188933f7/gettyimages-460237163.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"jeremiah oliver mother pleads guilty","caption":"Father Of Missing Fitchburg Boy Admits Checkered Past","creditText":"Photograph by Aram Boghosian—Getty/The Boston Globe","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/crime/","name":"Crime"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4895057/woman-whose-son-was-found-dead-pleads-guilty-to-abusing-surviving-children/","name":"Woman Whose Son Was Found Dead Pleads Guilty to Abusing Surviving Children"}}]}] ```