Sierra Pearl Zaitona was sentenced on April 9, 2025 to 24 to 50 years in prison for the starvation death of her two-year-old son in Clinton Township, Michigan. The sentencing followed her no contest plea in February 2025 to second-degree murder and second-degree child abuse in Macomb County Circuit Court.1Macomb Daily. Clinton Twp. Woman Pleads to Second-Degree Murder for Starvation Death of Son2Legal News. Sierra Pearl Zaitona Sentencing
How the Child Died
On March 16, 2023, emergency responders found the two-year-old boy dead in his crib at the River’s Edge mobile home park in Clinton Township. Prosecutors said Zaitona discovered her son unresponsive; the child’s father, Jonathan Matthew Cheek, was at his mother’s house at the time. A medical examiner determined the cause of death was starvation.3Macomb County Government. Parents Bound Over to Macomb County Circuit Court for Alleged Starvation
Zaitona, then 27, and Cheek, then 25, were each arraigned on March 20, 2023, on second-degree murder, a life felony under Michigan law, and second-degree child abuse, a ten-year felony. Bond was set at $1 million cash or surety with GPS tether for each.4Macomb County Government. Zaitona and Cheek Arraignment Press Release
The Plea and the Sentence
Zaitona pleaded no contest to both counts on February 18, 2025. The plea agreement fixed her second-degree murder sentence at 24 to 50 years, with credit for 754 days already served in county jail.1Macomb Daily. Clinton Twp. Woman Pleads to Second-Degree Murder for Starvation Death of Son
On April 9, 2025, 16th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Anthony R. Servitto imposed the final sentence: 24 to 50 years for second-degree murder and 43 months to 10 years for second-degree child abuse, with the two terms running concurrently.2Legal News. Sierra Pearl Zaitona Sentencing5CBS News Detroit. Michigan Woman Sentenced in Death of Young Son The sentence also required Zaitona to be listed on Michigan’s Central Registry for Child Abuse and Neglect under Wyatt’s Law.
How Her Sentence Compares to the Father’s
Cheek resolved his case first. He pleaded no contest to the same two counts on October 21, 2024, and Judge Edward Servitto sentenced him on December 18, 2024, to 24 to 50 years for the murder charge and 86 months to 10 years for child abuse.6Macomb County Government. Father Sentenced in Starvation Death of His Two-Year-Old Son
Zaitona and Cheek received identical 24-to-50-year terms on the murder count. Their child abuse sentences differ: Zaitona’s minimum is 43 months, while Cheek’s is 86 months.
The Child’s Time in Foster Care
The boy spent the first eight months of his life in foster care before being returned to his biological parents in November 2021. His foster mother, Melissa Piaseczny, said the parents cut off contact after the reunification and ignored her attempts to reach them.7Pages Suite. Foster Mother Account of Child’s Reunification Prosecutors noted that the child had been healthy while in foster care, a point they later used to frame the severity of the neglect that followed.8ClickOnDetroit. Parents Charged After Two-Year-Old Son Starves to Death in Clinton Township