Louisiana Mom Sentenced To Prison After Toddler Beaten To Death

A Louisiana woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and cruelty to juveniles in a deeply saddening case.

Rest in Peach Blessing Buckles

Blessing Buckles was three years old when her mother, Dineshia Yates, and her friend, Tercia Scott, left her and Scott's children home alone while the two went to the casino.

It was on February 12th, 2024 police received a 911 call from a child reporting another unresponsive three-year-old. East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office sent deputies to the scene found 8 children home alone, one of whom was an unresponsive three-year-old, Blessing Buckles.

Yates and Scott were questioned and later arrested by authorities after they pulled into the driveway while deputies were still at the house. Two juveniles identified only as Scott's son and nephew have also been arrested in connection with the death.

Blessing Buckles was pronounced dead days later at the hospital as she succumbed to a brain bleed, most likely from blunt force trauma.

Arrest paperwork shows that the two women had been living together for a short time but would regularly leave all 8 children by themselves while they would go to the casino, where they were the day of the police call.

The two juveniles are being charged with second-degree murder and simple battery, though, as they are underage, details may be withheld to protect their identities.

Over a year removed from the death of Blessing, Dineshia Yates has pleaded guilty in "best interest," which means she doesn't need to admit she is guilty, but that in her best interest, she doesn't continue the trial and accepts a guilty ruling.