‘I am glad you are in jail’: Urbina gets life for killing 3-year-old; victim’s mom sentenced to 18 years

Edwin Urbina, center, is sentenced to life in prison for murdering 3 year old Liam Straw, March 16, 2023.
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A sordid, tragic saga came to a close Thursday when a judge sentenced Edwin Urbina of Morristown to life without parole for fatally beating his girlfriend’s 3-year-old son in a sweltering Route 10 welfare hotel in August 2021.

Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor told Urbina, 28, he hopes the sentence provides “the opportunity to reflect on the enormous harm you have caused in this case. And I do hope that the sands of time will temper the evil demon that lurks deep within your soul.”

Superior Court Judge Stephen Taylor delivers sentence to Krystal Straw, March 16, 2023. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Separately, Liam Straw’s mother, Krystal Straw, got 18 years for child endangerment, and for covering up for her 265-pound boyfriend, a felon convicted earlier this month of beating the 35-pound boy in front of his helpless sister, who was 5 at the time.

Taylor called Straw’s actions “cold, calculated” and “almost incomprehensible” to any parent. He barred her and Urbina from future contact with Liam’s sister.

“I am truly sorry,” said Straw, 29, who pleaded guilty in January.

In a statement read by Morris County Assistant Public Defender Tracy Denholtz, Straw cited a “toxic relationship” and fear of Urbina, while accepting responsibility for entrusting her children to him and allowing him to continually batter Liam.

Krystal Straw, 29, listens to her public defender, Tracy Denholtz, at sentencing, March 16, 2023. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

“I know I cannot take any of my actions back, and I know I cannot undo the harm my actions caused my children. I wish I could.”

Urbina, who did not testify during his seven-day trial, declared his innocence.

“Wrong defendant,” he said in a low voice. Urbina noted that Straw, “a white woman,” was not charged with murder.

He accused the prosecution of character assassination, and the judge of intending “all along to send me away” without any DNA evidence or the slipper that Liam’s sister testified was used to strike the boy.

“I never disciplined Liam,” Urbina said, adding that he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, and that he voluntarily surrendered to authorities. It took him four days, however.

“Personally, I just didn’t want anything to do with this situation, because I was recently released from prison, December the 9th (2020), and don’t trust police, especially in today’s world,” Urbina said, reading from a sheet of paper he held with cuffed hands.

The judge countered that the evidence was overwhelming, and that a remorseless Urbina blamed everyone but himself for the killing.

“It’s not ‘allegedly’ anymore,” Taylor said during a brief back-and-forth with Urbina. “In the eyes of this court and the public, you are guilty of murder. And I do find it was a heinous and depraved murder of an innocent, defenseless, vulnerable child who had suffered injuries before at your hands.”

Edwin Urbina, center, reads statement at his sentencing for murder. To his left is defense lawyer Joel Harris, March 16, 2023. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

At Urbina’s trial, the deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy testified that six of Liam’s ribs appeared to have been fractured weeks before his murder.

The fatal blow ruptured the membrane that retains the small intestines, causing massive bleeding into the abdomen, according to the doctor.

Straw had been working an overnight shift at the Whippany QuickCheck when Urbina called her back to Room 521 of the now-defunct OYO Hotel in East Hanover.

She found Liam laying on a bed, “lifeless and pale,” according to Denholtz.

After Googling how to apply CPR to a 3-year-old, Straw spent the next few hours helping Urbina clear his belongings from the room. No calls for help were made. To hide Liam’s bruises, they dressed his body in a long-sleeved track suit– on a steamy night in a squalid room with broken air conditioning, according to testimony at Urbina’s trial..

Denholtz said Urbina was so worried about being caught and returned to prison–after serving time for robbery convictions–that he told her to stop speeding as she drove him to his relatives’ place in Morristown just before dawn on Aug. 13, 2021.

As Straw continued to Morristown Medical Center, Liam’s sister sat in the back seat–beside her dead brother. At the hospital, Straw “lied to everyone she came in contact with: Nurses, doctors, police officers,” and probably, over the phone, to her sister, Taylor said. At Urbina’s direction, Straw deleted information from her cell phone. “No talking,” she told Liam’s sister.

In addition to murder, Urbina was convicted of endangering and harming both siblings, hindering apprehension, and witness- and evidence tampering. Taylor tacked another 20 years onto his life sentence.

‘I AM GLAD YOU ARE IN JAIL’

Thursday’s sentencings, hours apart, were sprinkled with dramatic moments. Friends and family of Liam dabbed their eyes in the front row of the gallery, in a Morristown courtroom ringed by seven Sheriff’s Officers, as a letter from Liam’s sister, now 7, was read aloud at both proceedings.

It began “Dear Dad,” and concluded:

“I miss Liam very much. I am glad you are in jail, and that you can’t hurt me again.”

Linda Burke, Liam’s aunt–Krystal Straw’s sister–submitted a letter recited by Morris Senior Assistant Prosecutor Kelly Sandler.

Burke, 25, said her late nephew, nicknamed Bubba, was her best friend. She described a loving child filled with laughter who was “kind to every person he met.” Liam loved playing with toys, and with his sister. He loved bubble machines, and “anything Spiderman.”

Morris Assistant Prosecutor Tara Wang addresses the court at Krystal Straw sentencing, March 16, 2023. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

The aunt took him to a mall to buy his first stuffed animal, a monkey he named “Monkey the Monkey.” Now Liam’s sister is plagued by nightmares and keeps Monkey by her side, the aunt said.

Therapists are helping the girl overcome fears that newcomers will take her away, like what happened on the morning her brother died, Burke wrote.

She said Urbina beat Liam to death because he wanted a snack in the middle of the night. Now, she laments all the milestones she never will celebrate with Liam.

“I miss my Bubba every day, and he will never be forgotten,” Burke wrote.

Liam’s biological father, identified as “C.W.,” sent a letter asking the judge to sentence Urbina and Straw, “these two evil, malicious, wicked, monstrous criminals,” to solitary confinement every Aug. 13–the date Liam died–and on the siblings’ birthdays.

“This was all preventable,” wrote C.W., asserting he offered in 2020 to take Liam until Krystal Straw got on her feet again. His offers of an apartment, a car, and a cell phone were rejected, he said.

Tracy Monge, left, read a statement on behalf of the young victim’s biological father, March 16, 2023. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

When C.W. bought clothes for Liam, Straw sold them to buy a WiFi gift card for Urbina to play the video game Fortnite, C.W. said.

Straw’s attorney said Urbina smoked marijuana and played Fortnite while Straw tried to support them all on $385 a week by driving for Uber Eats and working nights at the convenience store.

The pair first met when Straw was 18. When Urbina went to prison in 2015, she stayed in touch. She was in another abusive relationship at the time, Denholtz, Straw’s lawyer, told the judge.

Urbina promised when he got out, he would “be there for her,” and treat Straw’s children “as his own,” Denholtz said.

But Urbina and Straw are “bottom-feeders who are heartless, selfish and plain evil,” asserted C.W., calling Straw a welfare cheat who cared more about “chasing sex” than caring for her kids.

“Edwin, LOL…you have just dug your own grave,” said C.W., whose remarks were read into the record by family friend Tracy Monge.

SHE WILL THRIVE

Urbina showed no emotion as his sentence was pronounced. Straw wore a COVID mask at her sentencing; at one point her attorney offered her a tissue. Both defendants plan appeals, according to their lawyers.

Hoping to send a message that Straw’s “behavior has no place in civilized society,” Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Tara Wang sought a 21-year sentence, with a minimum of 10 1/2 years in prison before parole would be possible.

Denholtz requested 13 years, from a prosecution plea deal that fell apart. Straw had been willing to testify against Urbina, the public defender said.

Morris County Assistant Public Defender Tracy Denholtz addresses court for Krystal Straw, 29, at sentencing, March 16, 2023. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

But Straw would not have been a credible witness, Taylor said. The judge took into account Straw’s counseling and Bible classes in the Morris County Jail, where Straw has been “trying to learn how to be a better mom,” according to her statement.

Straw can seek parole in five years.

Taylor had praise for Liam’s sister, who testified via Zoom, clutching Monkey the Monkey, at Urbina’s trial.

“She demonstrated more heart and more guts than this defendant and Miss Straw will ever have. And I commend her for that,” the judge said.

“It gives me hope, and I think it should give everyone here hope, that despite this traumatic event, she will thrive in her life. She will thrive, and this defendant will spend the rest of his life in maximum security state prison, where he belongs.”

MORE COVERAGE OF THIS CASE

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