An Aurora mother will serve almost 100 years in prison after killing her five-year-old daughter, attempting to destroy evidence by burning her body, and claiming to have given the girl up for adoption.

18th Judicial District Judge Joseph Whitfield sentenced 28-year-old Alexus Nelson to 84 years in prison without any right to appeal on Wednesday after Nelson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, tampering with a deceased body and attempting to influence a public servant — all felonies.

Nelson’s mother contacted the Aurora Police Department on May 30, 2023, requesting a wellness check on her granddaughter, 5-year-old Maha Li Hobbs, according to a press release from the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

According to the mother, she had not seen Li in three weeks and Nelson told her she had given the daughter up for adoption.

Nelson had full custody of Hobbs’ and Hobbs’ father lived out of state.

Officers arrived at the apartment, located in the 1000 block of S. Elkhart Street, and spoke with Nelson.

Nelson told the officers that she had given her daughter up for adoption at a local agency. Investigators then contacted the agency, who said they had no contact or case file for Nelson and her daughter.

Police obtained a search warrant and entered Nelson’s apartment on May 31. They found a bag inside of the utility closet on Nelson’s patio containing the “charred human remains of Nelson’s daughter,” according to the release.

Bone fragments and ashes were also found inside Nelson’s fireplace.

“Anytime that you hear these cases involving little children, I know it impacts our investigators. I know it impacts our community,” Aurora’s former police chief, Art Acevedo, said during a press conference after the 2023 arrest. “I responded to the scene last night and I can tell you it was tough to see our cops who had to find that little angel in the condition they found her in.”

Nelson was arrested and later pleaded guilty on Wednesday, cancelling her trial dates set for later this month.

“This mother knew about available adoption programs that could have cared for this 5-year-old but instead, she chose murder,” District Attorney John Kellner said in the release. “While there is no way to fully comprehend what turned this mother into a monster, she deserves to spend several decades behind bars for the unspeakable crime she committed.”