A 38-year-old New York City mother who admitted to smothering her 20-month-old son in the restroom of a Manhattan burger restaurant on Monday was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Latisha Fisher pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter in connection to the March 2015 death of her son, Gavriel Ortiz-Fisher, which at the time of her arrest she blamed on the devil.
‘Gavriel Ortiz-Fisher never reached his second birthday because of his mother’s unconscionable act,’ said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. ‘While the fatal suffocation of a child at the hands of his own mother is a tragedy that can never be undone, I hope this lengthy prison sentence gives the victim’s grieving family some sense of closure.’
In tears: Latisha Fisher, 38, is pictured sobbing in Manhattan State Supreme Court on Monday during her sentencing for the smothering death of her son
Guilty: Fisher pleaded guilty last month to a manslaughter charge in the killing of 20-month-old Gavriel Ortiz-Fisher
At her sentencing on Monday, Fisher was photographed sobbing while seated at the defense table. The New York Times reported she was heard repeating: ‘I am sorry. I love my son.’
State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro sentenced her to 18 years in state prison, with credit for the two-and-a-half years she had spent in jail, followed by 10 years of probation.
Gavriel’s biological father, Luis Ortiz Jr, and the toddler’s grandfather, Luis Ortiz Sr, were both present for Fisher’s sentencing and were seen wiping away tears.
Fisher was arrested on March 30, 2015, after she was discovered by restaurant staff at 2.30pm in the bathroom of 5 Boro Burger sitting on the toilet and holding her son, Gavriel.
The toddler was foaming from the nose and his lips were blue. FDNY first responders who were summoned to the eatery by restaurant staff transported the boy to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead an hour later.
Tearful closure: Luis Ortiz Jr, Gavriel’s father (left), and the boy’s grandfather, Luis Ortiz Sr (right), broke down in tears in court on Monday
Luis Ortiz Sr is pictured getting a hug from a supporter during Fisher’s sentencing Monday
The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner later ruled that the child’s death was a homicide as a result of smothering.
The New York Post previously reported that Fisher suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and had a violent past. After her arrest, she told police the devil made her do it.
She claimed she was protecting Gavriel from someone who wanted to eat him by putting him to sleep with her hand.
Fisher was recommended for an alternative sentencing program after pleading guilty for the 2011 stabbing of her aunt.
She received a positive evaluation as recently as September 2014, according to documents seen by the New York Daily News.
Fisher was discovered by staff in the bathroom of 5 Boro Burger (pictured) sitting on the toilet and holding her unconscious son, Gavriel
After her arrest, Fisher (pictured) told police the devil made her smother her child
She had been taking medication to combat her paranoid schizophrenia after being diagnosed in the aftermath of the incident.
The woman told clinicians that she had heard voices saying that her aunt was trying to kill her before the stabbing.
In September 2014, a court-appointed social worker said that she was ‘a poster child for an alternative to incarceration program’ and had ‘adjusted very well to the demands of new motherhood’.