In court on Friday, Jensen acknowledged not getting proper medical treatment that would have saved her son’s life and she cried as she apologized for her inaction, KXMC-TV reported.
‘I just want to say that I’m sorry I did not get the help that I needed to care for my son or myself, and maybe he would still be here, I’m sorry to everybody that I’ve hurt,’ Jensen said as she burst into tears.
She had reached a plea deal in July that called for her to spend 16 years in prison for the January 2014 death of Aidan, but a judge rejected the agreement.
District Judge Gary Lee said then that he could not agree to the terms given the evidence in the case ‘and the severity of the charges.’ Lee sentenced Jensen to the longer prison term on Friday.
‘She was entrusted with the care and nurture of her children and she completely destroyed those children, one even to his death,’ Lee said during the sentencing.
Authorities have said that Jensen’s son weighed just 21 pounds and died of starvation from a treatable condition, according to KX News.
She had pleaded not guilty last year to murder, child neglect and failure to report the death of a child.
Lee said he was relieved that no jury would have to view the photos he saw of the boy’s body after his death.
Jensen was charged in March 2014 after the state medical examiner ruled her son died from chronic starvation due to untreated juvenile appetite disorder.
She told investigators that her son had a hormonal growth problem and that his pituitary gland did not function properly.
Jensen also said her son would eat and then vomit, and that he had not seen a doctor for several years.
Her two other children, a seven-year-old and 14-year-old, were found to be lacking in education and social skills.
‘I really can’t think of any conduct worse than a parent depriving her children of what they need, in this case medical care which could have saved the child’s life, and those educational and social advancements that would have helped those other children,’ Lee said.
The prosecutor said Jensen’s two other children are doing well in school and the mother was ordered to have no contact with them for the rest of her life, KX News reported.