A Pueblo County woman was sentenced to over four decades in the Colorado Department of Corrections in connection with the death of a three-year-old.
On December 15, Brittany Farmer, 40, pled guilty to second-degree murder and misdemeanor child abuse in connection with the death of a 3-year-old boy in June 2024. In exchange for her guilty plea, she received an agreed-upon sentence of 45 years in prison, and the 10th Judicial District Attorney’s Office withdrew all remaining charges.
On June 8, deputies from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint of an unresponsive 3-year-old child. The child was brought to a Pueblo hospital, then moved to another in Colorado Springs, where he died on June 12.
Samantha Kimberly, the child’s mother, admitted to striking the 3-year-old with a belt and said she “couldn’t remember” how many times she had hit him, despite initially claiming she had only hit him on the buttocks and had accidentally hit him once on the spine, according to a Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office arrest affidavit.
According to the sheriff’s office, the two ladies shared a home in Pueblo West.
According to the affidavit, the victim’s 14-year-old brother contradicted her statement, telling officers that he was forced to walk constantly around the living room to address a “foot issue,” and that if he didn’t follow a specific pace, he would be forced to get down on the ground and lashed with a belt. The 14-year-old reportedly described being forced to hold his brother’s elbows while Kimberly thrashed the toddler’s hands, frequently hitting the 14-year-old.
According to the complaint, the farmer allegedly encouraged Kimberly and informed her that when she abused her children, she did not hit hard or long enough.
When Kimberly became fatigued, the 14-year-old described Farmer “taking over” her. Farmer also reportedly beat the 3-year-old in the head twice with a slipper on the day sheriff’s deputies were called to the house.
The 14-year-old claimed he was initially told to lie about the abuse to police enforcement. After interviewing with the 14-year-old, deputies approached Kimberly with his comments, at which point she “said the abuse was all on her and took responsibility for it,” according to the affidavit.
In a 2024 sheriff’s office news release, Sheriff David Lucero stated that he was “deeply saddened and, quite frankly, angry” about the case, which he described as “one of the worst abuse cases I have seen in my 24 years in law enforcement.”
In a Facebook post on December 15, PCSO expressed delight with the sentence.
“This sentence reflects the severity of the crime and is a critical step in holding those responsible accountable,” the sheriff’s office said.
If Farmer is freed from the Department of Corrections, he will be required to serve five years.
Kimberly will have a jury trial in May.
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