Crystal Williams has been sentenced to 99 years for starving and beating her stepson to death. Picture: ABC10

For starving and beating the five-year-old boy, Texas mum Crystal Williams was handed a 99-year sentence.

The boy’s mother Carlotta Balleza described the neglect best in a statement to the court.

“A child died in your care,” she said. “Dogs in the street are better mothers.”

Josiah’s tiny, battered body gave in two days after Christmas in 2012. A medical examiner told the court the boy was dehydrated, emaciated and beaten when he died.

Josiah was in the custody of his father, Charleston Williams, his stepmother and his step-grandmother, Gloria Proo.

Before she was sentenced, Williams, 31, told the jury in San Antonio that Josiah was so tiny because he was picky about his food.

“I even tried compromising with him,” she said. “Giving snacks or doughnuts, just so he would eat something.”

Crystal Williams was sentenced on Tuesday in one of Texas’ most disturbing child abuse cases. Picture: ABC10Source:Supplied

CUTS ALL OVER HIS BODY

Police were called to the family home of Charleston and Crystal Williams on December 27, four years ago. They were told Josiah wasn’t breathing.

Investigators said it was immediately clear the child was a victim of abuse. He was malnourished, had two black eyes and cuts all over his body. Inside his mouth were deep gashes.

A family friend said he tried to intervene when he noticed the boy was looking frail. He said he was rebuffed by the boy’s carers weeks before his death.

“He appeared to be underweight and had yellowish, jaundiced skin,” Lawrence Walker told the court.

The jury was shown contrasting stories. They were shown pictures of the five-year-old during happier times, dressed as Woody from Toy Story and smiling. Then they were shown images of his body after his death.

When his stepmother looked at the images, she broke down in tears. She cried again on Tuesday when the jury took less than two hours to return its verdict.

Prosecutor Stephanie Boyd urged jurors to hand down a maximum sentence and they obliged.

“When Josiah died, he probably thought, ‘I’m dying unloved, and I’m dying alone’,” Ms Boyd said.

“He died in a place with people who were supposed to love him, with no hope.”

Williams must serve at least 30 years before she is eligible for parole. She was also fined $10,000.

A hole in a closet door matched the size of Josiah’s head. Picture: ABC10Source:Supplied

HOLE IN CLOSET MATCHED SIZE OF BOY’S HEAD

Samantha Evans from the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office was assigned the difficult task of performing an autopsy on Josiah’s body.

Dr Evans said it was immediately clear the boy was severely underweight.

“The young man was very thin in appearance where you could see lots of bone structures from the outside,” she said.

“He also had a number of injuries ranging from what appeared to be acute injuries, things that happened very recently, to wounds that were in the process of healing, as well as a number of scars beyond what we typically see in a five-year-old that comes through our office.”

During Williams’ trial, jurors were shown video footage from within the San Antonio home. In one room, investigators found traces of blood not far from a hole in a closet door. The hole matched the size of Josiah’s head, KENS 5 News in San Antonio reported.

The five-year-old was not the only child under the Williams’ care. Two other children, aged 8 and 2, were removed by Child Protective Services. They did not appear to have been abused.

Charleston Williams and Gloria Proo are awaiting trial.

A jury was shown the extent of the five-year-old’s injuries. Picture: ABC10Source:Supplied