October 09, 2026
Pueblo West Mom Convicted of Murdering Her 3-Year-Old Son; Sentencing Set for Oct. 26
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The verdict
After a three-week trial and about a day and a half of deliberation, a Pueblo County jury found Samantha Kimberly of Pueblo West guilty on October 6 of first-degree murder and two counts of child abuse in the June 8, 2024, death of her 3-year-old son.
Kimberly will be sentenced October 26 on all charges.
The prosecution's case
District Attorney Kala Beauvais told jurors in closing arguments October 2 that the case was summed up by photographs, statements made by Kimberly's 14-year-old son, and Kimberly's own words to investigators.
According to the DA, Kimberly admitted she had "lost control" and was "wailing on" her son the day he died. When investigators informed her that her son had died and asked what that meant, she answered: "Murder. I killed him."
The 14-year-old testified that he and his little brother were subjected to a months-long pattern of abuse after the family moved to Colorado — he said he had lost 40 pounds in two months. The prosecution said the women forced the boys to walk around the living room for hours with minimal breaks and barely any water, and beat them with escalating instruments: a bare hand, a slipper, the backside of a belt, and finally the buckle end of a belt.
The toddler was covered in bruises head to toe — the DA said more of his skin was bruised than not. The 14-year-old's bruises, prosecutors noted, appeared only in places clothing could hide, because he was in school.
Text messages between Kimberly and her co-defendant painted a damning picture. Two days before the fatal injury, Kimberly wrote that the 3-year-old "needs it, and I need it, I want them to respect me." She later told the co-defendant that if anyone saw the 3-year-old, "he's gone, and I'm behind bars." The day before he died, she wrote that she hoped they weren't "giving him brain damage" and that her "main worry was losing him."
The day of his death, she messaged that she was concerned about her son's breathing — then that she was "thinking of saying he fell down the stairs." On the 911 call, she did claim he had fallen down the stairs, but added that "when you look at him it's not going to look believable."
Under interrogation, Kimberly said she had "snapped" and that it was her decision to use a belt. Three separate experts likened the child's fatal injuries to those seen in car-crash ejection victims.
The defense
Public defender Carter Vaden argued that the co-defendant, Brittany Farmer, was the true killer. He said Kimberly's admissions reflected that she expected to be charged, not that she caused the head injury — and noted the slippers tested positive for the 3-year-old's blood while the belts did not. A forensic examiner for Pueblo County testified the slipper could have caused the fatal injury if swung hard enough.
The jury rejected that theory and convicted on all counts.
The co-defendant
Farmer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 45 years in prison in December 2025.
What officials said
"We appreciate the jury's verdict in this tragic and difficult case," Beauvais said in a written statement. "Any homicide case is difficult, but those challenges are amplified when the victims are children."
The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office said the verdict "sends a message that justice was served." Sheriff David Lucero credited detectives led by Detective Vanessa Simpson and acknowledged Deputy McConnell, a first responder, calling it "one of the most tragic child abuse cases in our community."
This is a developing story. The Night Desk will update this article as sentencing approaches.
Source: The Pueblo Chieftain (Gannett) — read the original report
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