Cheyenne Maddox, from Clarksville, Tennessee, was sentenced on February 10, 2026, to 20 years in prison without parole for the 2022 death of her 13-year-old son, Kadaris Maddox, who suffered from cerebral palsy. She was convicted in October 2025 of reckless homicide and aggravated child abuse after a jury trial, downgraded from initial first-degree murder charges.
Death Circumstances
On July 6, 2022, first responders found Kadaris dead in their squalid Virginia Terrace home, weighing just 35 pounds—down from 47 pounds at his last doctor’s visit—described as “skin and bones” with no pulse and cold to the touch. The autopsy ruled his death a homicide due to malnutrition and starvation in a house filled with trash, where floors were untouchable and his room nearly empty except for a mattress.
Trial and Sentencing
Prosecutors highlighted Maddox’s failure to feed Kadaris despite his cognitive intactness and optimistic medical outlook, with testimony from doctors and nurses on his weight loss. Before sentencing, Maddox admitted negligence, wished to trade places with him, and blamed mental health struggles after her husband’s suicide; her defense sought leniency, but the judge imposed 3 years for homicide and 17 concurrent years for abuse. Family called Kadaris joyful, lamenting lack of intervention.
