A Texas mom has received a life sentence after choosing to party at a club called Shades instead of prioritizing her disabled daughter.

The child sadly died while her mother was out dancing.

Lauren Kay Dean, who lived in Texas with her three children, went out clubbing with her friends in January 2020. 

On the afternoon of January 31, Bay City police received a complaint against her. They immediately went to the residence to do a welfare check. Dean was already home when police arrived. The 26-year-old then agreed to let law enforcement into her home to show them that she was not having any issues with her children and that they were all okay.

They were welcomed with a disturbing scene. They found one of her children already dead.

One of Dean’s daughters had Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and required a feeding tube to be able to eat. The seven-year-old couldn’t communicate with others and needed to be monitored and cared for at all times. According to prosecutors, she died due to being left at home with only her two younger siblings when Dean went out to party.

Her two other daughters, aged five and three months, were taken from her. 

Dean was also charged with abandonment and endangerment of a child. Later, she was charged with capital murder of a person under the age of 10.

The mom has pleaded guilty to her murder charge and was given a life sentence. She was also given an additional 20 years for two counts of abandonment, child endangerment, imminent danger of bodily injury. 

Dean was sent to Matagorda County Jail. She  pleaded guilty to avoid trial, which might have resulted in the death penalty.