The mother of a 5-year-old boy found dead beneath the floorboards of a Moro home in December 2022 has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty last week to molestation in connection with the boy’s killing and the injury to her 6-year-old daughter, Arkansas State Police said Tuesday.

Ashley Rolland, 30, pleaded guilty Thursday in Lee County District Court to two counts of tolerating the abuse of a minor in the death of her son, Blu Rolland, who was found dead on Dec. 16, 2022, the day he would have been 6 years old, state police said in a news release.

State police agents began the investigation after the Lee County Sheriff requested their assistance, which led to the arrest of Ashley Rolland and Nathan Bridges, 34, the news release said.

According to an affidavit from a state police investigator, Ashley Rolland told police that on September 9, 2022, Bridges put his finger in the boy’s mouth and the boy bit it, which made Bridges angry.

She said Bridges took Blu into the bathroom and repeatedly submerged the boy’s head in the toilet until he drowned.

Bridges then cut a hole in the house’s wooden floor and buried Blu, wrapped in plastic bags and covered with a blanket, Ashley Rolland told police.

She told police that Bridges also dipped her daughter’s head and upper body in boiling water as punishment for the girl’s behavioral problems.

Bridges pleaded guilty on July 15 to first-degree murder and assault on Blu, as well as wounding the girl, state police said. A judge sentenced Bridges to 60 years in prison.