A Minnesota case marked by prolonged abuse and a child’s final, desperate hours is moving toward resolution — but the details remain as devastating as they are difficult to process.

Shiann Lynn Erickson, 24, is expected to plead guilty in connection with the 2024 death of 3-year-old Eastyn Deronjic, a child prosecutors say endured months of physical abuse before suffering fatal injuries. Erickson is scheduled to appear in Clay County District Court on April 7 for a change of plea hearing.

She had been charged with second-degree murder. Her co-defendant, Rosa E. Garza — who now goes by Mason Garza — previously pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Emergency responders were called to an apartment in Moorhead, Minnesota just after 1 a.m. on March 18, 2024, after reports of a young child not breathing. When officers arrived, they found Eastyn covered in bruises. Despite lifesaving efforts and transport to a nearby hospital, he died shortly after.

An autopsy later revealed the full extent of the violence.

The cause of death was a blunt force injury that perforated the boy’s bowel — a catastrophic internal injury. Investigators also documented 28 additional blunt force injuries across his small body, evidence of sustained and repeated abuse.

Eastyn and his younger sister had been staying with Erickson and Garza for what authorities described as an extended period. The two were acquaintances of the children’s parents. Following Eastyn’s death, his sister was removed from the home and placed into protective custody.

In the hours before his death, a witness who came to watch the children described a boy who was visibly ill — vomiting, asking for water, then suddenly becoming unresponsive. He was pronounced dead less than two hours later.

Explanations offered by the defendants — falls from a bike, a collapse in the bathroom — quickly unraveled under scrutiny. Messages recovered from their phones painted a darker picture. In one exchange sent the day Eastyn suffered his fatal injuries, Erickson wrote during an argument: “Ok have fun with your little [expletive]. Go beat on her kid.”

Erickson also claimed Garza had been abusive toward her, but denied witnessing violence against Eastyn — a claim contradicted by the evidence.

The boy’s mother told police she had not seen her children in roughly two weeks. When she last saw Eastyn, she believed his bruises were the result of clumsiness. Hours before his death, she spoke to him by phone. He sounded sick, she said, but otherwise okay.

Now, as Erickson prepares to formally change her plea, the case stands as a stark reminder of how abuse can remain hidden — until it’s too late.