A mother in Illinois has pleaded guilty to the murder of her 7-year-old son. According to court documents, she attempted to smother him with pillows and cushions multiple times while he was playing and sleeping.
She murdered the child in 2021 despite the child telling his grandmother, “Mama is going to kill me.” The woman, identified as Sarah Safranek, 38, confessed to killing her son. She suffocated him on Feb. 17, 2021. He was taken to the hospital, but died a day later.
The seven-year-old Nathaniel Burton used to tell his paternal grandmother,” I can’t breathe, Grandma, she won’t let me breathe.”
She made repeated attempts to suffocate the child in their Oregon home. She has been in custody since 2021 and was sentenced to 35 years in prison for first-degree murder. Before the seven-year-old was killed, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services went to the accused’s home several times; however, they were unable to find any indication of child abuse and parental wrongdoing.
⚠️WARNING: This post describes the systematic abuse and murder of a child by a parent.
An Illinois mother has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to the first-degree murder of her 7-year-old son, who she suffocated in 2021.
Mother pleads guilty to murder of 7-year-old son, sentenced to 35 years: https://t.co/WbW6akhUag
— Dr. Christine Sarteschi, LCSW (@DrSarteschi) November 16, 2025
Court documents revealed the… pic.twitter.com/JI2g8vpCnA
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) November 16, 2025
Even the grandmother had told police about a horrific incident two months before his death. She had found the boy with a pillow over his head while he was sleeping. Both the maternal and paternal grandmothers reported similar incidents.
The maternal grandmother revealed that the boy said his mother tried to drown him in the bathtub. He also told her that he was in a constant state of worry about being suffocated by his mom. In addition, Nathaniel’s sister revealed that his mom would beat him with a belt and choke him, a clear incident of child abuse.
The boy also lived with a foster family when he was five years old. He used to tell them about similar incidents. In one incident, the mother threw the cushion over him and wouldn’t get off while he was playing with his toy cars.
Upon investigation after the kid’s death, the authorities uncovered questionable internet searches that implied child abuse. One of her Google searches was, “What is it called when a parent is obsessed with the thought of killing their child?”
In another, she inquired about the cost of a child’s cremation. She also Googled the time duration of the investigation after a child passes away. Some of her other searches included how to kill with a voodoo doll and the most deadly poisons. Safranek will now serve 35 years in prison, and after that, she’ll be released under supervision.
