SAN ANTONIO – More than four years after the body of 18-month-old James Chairez was found beneath a mobile home on the South Side, his mother has accepted a plea deal in the case, avoiding a trial that the child’s family had long hoped would bring answers.
D’Lanny Chairez pleaded guilty Tuesday to intentionally or knowingly causing serious bodily injury to a child and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She was given credit for time already served.
She had previously been serving a five-year sentence for tampering with evidence after her son’s remains were discovered in April 2021.
For James’ family, the plea deal brings neither peace nor closure.
“Twenty years with time served? Where’s the justice?” Marisol Benavidez, James’ aunt, said. “She’ll be in her early 40s when she gets out. She can walk free and live her life. James never got that chance.”
Benavidez, who has served as an advocate for her nephew since his disappearance, described the outcome as “a slap in the face.”
In a victim impact statement delivered in court, Benavidez told Chairez: “You’re guilty of not providing James love. You’re guilty of him being found dead. You’re guilty of being a poor excuse of a mother and a human being.”
Chairez showed little emotion as the statement was read.
The child was reported missing in December 2020, and his body was later found hidden under the trailer where he and his mother lived.
Despite an arrest and upgraded charges in 2022, the case saw multiple delays, frustrating family members who said they were left in the dark by the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.
“There’s not a day I don’t think about him. It still hurts not knowing what happened to him,” Benavidez previously told KSAT. “Coming here and having that disappointment that she’s not coming out, there’s not another answer, no trial … it breaks my heart.”
Court records also showed that Chairez had requested a new attorney before entering the plea deal, contributing to delays in setting a trial date.
Now, with the plea in place and no trial moving forward, Benavidez said the family may never get the full truth about what happened to James.
“It took us a long time to try and understand why the court was taking so long,” she said. “Then they ripped it away from us. Now we just have to put that band-aid back and keep his memory alive.”
Chairez will be eligible for parole before serving the full 20-year sentence.