Story thread · 2 reports / 2 sources

For Tampa child’s death, mother agrees to 40 years in prison

tampabay.com · 11h · first reportShare

Early one morning two years ago, police and paramedics were called to a little house in Tampa’s Sulphur Springs neighborhood, where they found a mother trying to revive her 4-year-old son, who lay unconscious. The boy, named Joseph, was later declared dead at a hospital. Within days, his mother was charged with murder and aggravated child abuse . The tragic and complicated case ended late last month in a Tampa courtroom, where Arayia Hudson pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in exchange for 40 years in prison. Along with the hefty prison term, Hudson, 38, agreed to a 15-year probation sentence, with strict conditions that include a prohibition against any unsupervised contact with children. The plea and sentence were part of an offer state prosecutors made to Hudson’s defense, which spared her the possibility of the death penalty while ensuring the boy’s surviving siblings would not be subject to the emotional trauma of a trial. While specifics about the plea negotiations are unclear,