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Mother of murdered 4-year-old boy faces perjury, abuse charges

Posted at 4:21 PM, Jan 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-26 16:21:33-05

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The mother of a 4-year-old boy who was killed last year is facing a perjury charge.

The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office says Sonja Hernandez is charged in connection with her testimony in the case of Elis Nelson Ortiz-Nieves.  She could face life in prison for the perjury charge if convicted.

Ortiz-Nieveswas found guilty of murder in December in the death of Giovanni Meijias.  Hernandez was Ortiz-Nieves’ girlfriend at the time of Giovanni’s death.

Prosecutor Chris Becker said Friday that Hernandez is also facing two counts of felony second-degree child abuse. Those charges are not connected to the murder case, he said in a release.

Giovanni Meijias was found unresponsive at a mobile home on N. Green Meadow Street SE in June 2017.  The Kent County medical examiner ruled Giovanni died from trauma to his abdomen, and that there were several older injuries found on him that were in various stages of healing.