By: Devin Fry
MOORHEAD, Minn. (Valley News Live) – A woman charged in the death of three-year-old Eastyn Deronjic pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Clay County District Court.
Shiann Lynn Erickson entered the plea before Judge Tammy L. Merkins. The charge, murder in the second degree without intent while committing a felony, stems from the March 18, 2024, death of the toddler.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 20.
Moorhead Police responded to a 911 call at an apartment on Belsly Boulevard where officers found heavy bruising on the child’s face and body. Eastyn later died at Sanford Hospital. A final autopsy report released in July 2025 determined he died from blunt force trauma.
Court records show Eastyn’s mother told investigators her children had been living with Erickson and co-defendant Mason Garza since August 2023. She said she had last seen her son about two weeks before his death.
Garza, the other caregiver charged in the case, previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Erickson had previously pleaded not guilty. Her trial had been scheduled for May 2026.
