AUSTIN — Meagan Work, the mother who pleaded guilty in the 2014 death of her young son, will soon learn what sentence she faces.
In 2014, 2-year-old Colton Turner was found dead in a shallow grave in southeast Austin after authorities searched for the missing boy. Police believe Work and her boyfriend, Michael Turner, admitted to burying Colton after he died from a seizure.
The 24-year-old pleaded guilty in August to a charge of tampering with evidence, and a charge of injury to a child by omission, meaning she failed to find medical care for her son.
The judge could give Meagan Work anywhere from five years to life in prison.
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Prosecutors said Monday at the sentencing hearing that they will ask Judge David Wahlberg for a "significant prison sentence" for Work.
One of Work's family members testified on Monday. She said she never recalled seeing the boy with any injuries in person, however, she saw pictures on Facebook.
"I was just concerned for the child," said the family member, who prosecutors asked not to identify. "I was raised to speak for those who can't."
She said the injuries shown "seemed to not be an accidental situation."
The family member said she reached out to one of Work's friends on Facebook to try to find Work's whereabouts.
The friend, who prosecutors also asked not to identify, testified about the Facebook conversation.
"No child deserves to look like that," she said, as she choked back tears.
She said she called Cedar Park Police after seeing the photos.
Another friend testified Monday morning. She lived with Work a few different times and babysat Colton. She testified Work would leave him alone.
"I just remember him sighing, 'I love you,' and that was the last thing I ever heard from him," she said, recalling the last time she talked on the phone with Colton.
A few months later, she said Work reached out to her for help. She said Work told her Colton was staying with a friend in Houston. She added that Work would pretend to talk on the phone with Colton in September 2014. Colton died a few months prior.
"I constantly have this fear for my kids, just because of this," the witness said. "It took me a long time to recover from this."
Prosecutors called Cedar Park Police Officer Kevin Freed, who said he responded to the missing child call on Sept. 10, 2014.
Freed said he spoke with a witness who showed him the Facebook photographs of Colton with "excessive bruises, redness and marks."
"That was some of the worst bruising I'd ever seen on a child up to that point in my career," Freed said.
Freed said they did a welfare check, and Work told him she dropped Colton off at a friend's house near Houston. Police said she couldn't give an address or phone number to contact the friend.
Police learned the friend Work was referring to lived in Sachse, just outside of Dallas.
Daniel Andrews, an officer with Sachse Police Department in 2014, responded to the welfare check for Colton Turner in Sachse.
Police said the woman told them Work told her Colton was in East Texas and not with her. Police said the woman received a text from Work while police were talking to her, asking her to tell police that Colton was with her and had been for days.
The woman also testified on Monday. She said she worked and was best friends with Work when she lived in Leander, before moving to Sachse.
She said the night police showed up at her house was the last night she spoke to Work.
A police officer with Cedar Park PD took the stand shortly after. Chance Thomas arrived after police took Work to the department to be interviewed.
Thomas said Work told officers someone kidnapped Colton. He said she then changed her story, saying she told police she gave Colton to a family she met outside Chick-Fil-A.
Thomas said Work gave extensive details about giving Colton up and said he wanted to believe her story -- until Michael confessed they buried Colton.
Austin Police Department Detective Ray Tynes said Turner told them they buried Colton wrapped in a purple blanket with sheet rock on top.
"Those are scenes that you don’t forget," Tynes said. "Colton was my responsibility at that point, so I stayed with him."
On Tuesday, a detective described the day he recovered Colton's grave.
On Wednesday, the court is expected to see a video of an APD interview from 2014 where Coe used a doll to demonstrate what the alleged assault looked like.
Michael Turner pleaded guilty in 2016 to injury to a child by omission and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.
KVUE's Molly Oak is tweeting live from the courtroom. Follow her for updates.