MIAMI – A woman accused of torturing and killing her 3-year-old son in 1990 testified in her trial on Monday.
Ana Maria Cardona faces life in prison if convicted of murder in the death of Lazaro Figueroa.
The boy's body was discovered in the bushes of a Miami Beach home in November 1990. He had been badly beaten and weighed just 18 pounds.
Police initially couldn't identify the boy, calling him "Baby Lollipops" because of a design on his T-shirt.
While on the stand, Cardona spoke about having a difficult relationship with Lazaro's father before getting involved with her abusive lover, Olivia Gonzalez, whom she blamed for her son's death.
"I never thought that Olivia would end up killing my son," Cardona said. "I trusted her and never suspected that she would try to betray me."
Prosecutors countered Cardona's testimony by showing photos of Cardona with Gonzalez on vacation after her son's death.
"Do you want to say to the jury three or four or five more times, 'It's all Olivia's fault,' so you can get it out of your system?" senior prosecutor Reid Rubin said.
Two previous convictions and death sentences were tossed out by the Florida Supreme Court. The most recent decision in February 2016 came after the justices deemed a new trial was necessary because of the prosecutor's "numerous improper closing arguments" that "repeatedly crossed the line."
Cardona was initially convicted and sentenced to death in 1992, but the Supreme Court overturned the conviction because prosecutors failed to disclose key evidence to the defense.
Prosecutors have decided against seeking the death penalty this time.
Cardona has said the boy's death was an accident.
