A Michigan mother and her boyfriend will spend decades behind bars after the horrific abuse and killing of her 7-year-old son, Deshawn Williams.

Wayne County Judge Paul Cusick handed down the sentences Friday, condemning 25-year-old Alisha Hollamon to 20–40 years in prison and 23-year-old Avion Traylor to 28–60 years, after both pleaded guilty to homicide in Deshawn’s 2023 death.

Prosecutors said the young boy’s life was cut short by blunt force trauma to his head and pelvis, injuries caused by what investigators described as “a gross amount of abuse.”

Judge Cusick called the case “one of the worst things” he’s seen in nearly three decades of criminal law, revealing that he had watched disturbing videos showing Deshawn crying and begging for his life. He urged the parole board to remember the severity of the crime, saying both defendants deserved the maximum punishment.

During sentencing, Deshawn’s aunt, Krystal Hollamon, delivered a tearful and powerful victim statement, directly confronting Traylor. “Your mom gave birth to a demon,” she said, calling him “evil” and describing Deshawn’s killing as a “sick, demonic, ritual-like crime.”

Neither Hollamon nor Traylor spoke in court. Their attorneys argued that Hollamon was also a victim of Traylor’s control, but Judge Cusick rejected that claim outright.

“Neither of you are victims,” he said. “You, Ms. Hollamon, allowed your son to be tortured — and then you lied to protect the person who did it.”

Deshawn Williams was remembered by family as a bright, loving child who never had the chance to reach his eighth birthday.