HENRIETTA, TX – A young mother has been ordered to serve more than two decades in prison for her role in the 2018 death of her 2-year-old daughter, concluding a lengthy pursuit for justice that spanned several years and courtrooms across two counties.
Sarah Elizabeth Newsom, 30, entered a guilty plea Monday to a charge of injury to a child by omission resulting in serious bodily injury. Her plea came in Clay County, where she appeared before Judge Trish Coleman Byars of the 97th Judicial District Court. Newsom was immediately sentenced to 22 years in state prison and remanded to the custody of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. By Tuesday, she was booked into the Wichita County Jail to begin serving her term.
The case dates back to October 18, 2018, when Newsom’s daughter, Scarlette “Olivia” Newsom, was brought to the emergency room at Clay County Memorial Hospital. According to court testimony, the child arrived unresponsive and covered in bruises. Newsom initially told hospital staff her daughter was suffering from the flu, but medical personnel quickly found injuries inconsistent with that explanation.
Witnesses recalled the child’s condition as dire, describing her as limp and unresponsive, with bruising visible across her face and body. One observer stated that there was “not a surface on the child that had no injuries.” The toddler was later transferred to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, but ultimately did not recover.
Investigators determined that Olivia’s injuries resulted from severe physical abuse at the hands of Joshua Thomas Fulbright, who at the time was Newsom’s boyfriend. Prosecutors revealed that Newsom had regularly left her daughter in Fulbright’s care while she worked. Testimony revealed a pattern of escalating punishment inflicted on the girl, ranging from lengthy “time-outs” to physically demanding exercises and ultimately to repeated, violent beatings.
During Fulbright’s trial earlier this year, Newsom described how the discipline intensified over time, with Fulbright resorting to spanking and, eventually, brutal assaults whenever the child failed to meet his demands. Newsom admitted she witnessed her boyfriend’s treatment of her daughter but told the court she felt powerless to intervene.
Fulbright was found guilty of capital murder in March after a third attempt by prosecutors to bring the case to trial. Two previous trials were declared mistrials—one due to jury selection issues and another after Fulbright’s attorney was arrested. Fulbright is currently appealing his conviction, raising questions about the exclusion of defense testimony and prosecutorial conduct.
Court documents further indicated that Newsom herself confessed to slapping her daughter during a medical emergency, claiming she hoped to revive Olivia from a seizure-like state. Ultimately, authorities charged Newsom with failing to protect her child from ongoing abuse, resulting in the fatal injuries.
By pleading guilty, Newsom accepted the sentence recommended in a negotiated agreement and gave up her right to appeal. The district attorney’s office said the decision to resolve the case through a plea deal was made after careful consideration of the evidence and input from the victim’s family.
Family members of Olivia expressed devastation over the loss, describing in public statements the profound grief experienced in the wake of the young girl’s death. As the two convicted adults begin their sentences, officials hope the resolution of the case may offer some measure of closure for those who continue to mourn the toddler’s tragic fate.