Mom of slain New Mexico teen will get prison in a plea deal

The mother of a slain New Mexico teenager has accepted a plea deal that will result in a 12-year prison sentence for child abuse resulting in death.

The Albuquerque Journal reports 36-year-old Tracy Ann Pena must testify against 20-year-old Jordan Nunez who’s awaiting trial in the case.

Nunez is the son of Pena’s former boyfriend. He’s accused of torturing 13-year-old Jeremiah Valencia daily with a homemade spear or a shock collar.

The teen was found dead in the family group’s Nambe home in November 2017.

Court documents allege Valencia died after Nunez repeatedly flipped over a dog cage that the teen was forced to stay in.

Authorities initially suspected Nunez’s father, 42-year-old Thomas Ferguson, as the one who fatally beat the boy.

Ferguson died in a jail suicide in April.