Mom who stopped for pack of cigarettes while son was dying in back seat is sentenced to prison

Samantha McCormack and Robert Elmore Jr. mug shots (Blount County Sheriff’s Office) and Enzo McCormack (GoFundMe)

A 30-year-old mother in Alabama will spend more than two decades behind bars in connection with the killing of her 18-month-old son , who was beaten to death by her boyfriend five years ago.

A judge in Blount County ordered Samantha McCormack — who stopped to buy cigarettes on the way to the emergency room — to serve 25 years in a state correctional facility for the 2019 slaying of young Enzo McCormack.

Samantha McCormack previously pleaded guilty to felony murder in the course of child abuse.

The boyfriend, 32-year-old Robert Elmore Jr., was found guilty of capital murder by intentional murder of a person less than 14 years of age and aggravated child abuse of a child less than 6 years of age last year and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility for parole. The aggravated abuse conviction stemmed from Elmore’s beating of Enzo’s brother.

“This story is horrifying. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering this child endured before succumbing to his injuries. I cannot understand someone doing what Elmore did. But, as a mother, I cannot understand how a mother could leave their child in the care of someone the mother knows to have been abusive to the child,” Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey said in a statement. “Elmore and McCormack will be held accountable within the extent the law allows.”

Personnel with Blount County Emergency Medical Services at about 7 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2019, responded to the Locust Fork Grocery & Hardware/Marathon Petroleum in the 30000 block of AL-79 in regards to an unresponsive toddler, Birmingham ABC affiliate WBMA reported . The store is about 30 miles northeast of Birmingham.

Upon arriving at the scene, first responders reportedly said they found the toddler limp, unresponsive, and blue in the face. The child was immediately transported to the Locust Fort Volunteer Fire Department and was then taken to Alabama Children’s Hospital in critical condition.

Enzo remained on a ventilator until Sept. 9, 2019, at which point doctors determined that he had no brain activity and nothing else could be done to help the child, Birmingham CBS affiliate WIAT reported .

According to a report from AL.com, McCormack told investigators that she was home with her kids when she saw Enzo choking on cereal. A few hours later, she decided to take him to the hospital. However, McCormack reportedly also said that on the way to seeking medical attention for her son, she decided to stop and get a pack of cigarettes at Locust Fork, where a family member worked.

The family member went out to the car to see Enzo, found him limp and cold to the touch, and called 911.

When questioned by police, Elmore reportedly said that while he was holding Enzo on Sept. 6, 2019, the toddler pulled one of his chest hairs, causing him to drop the boy.

However, a doctor testified at trial that Enzo suffered blunt force trauma to the head as well as “and severe acceleration and deceleration injuries from being violently shaken,” WIAT reported. The toddler also suffered a fractured skull

Additionally, phone records showed that Elmore at 5:41 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2019, sent McCormack a text message stating that Enzo “ain’t breathing rite … he is limp … and almost blue,” AL.com reported.

McCormack had lost custody of her kids in October 2018, but was able to regain custody in June 2019, per WIAT.

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