Meagan Work sentencing phase to begin Monday

The sentencing phase for Meagan Work started Monday morning in a Travis County courtroom. 

This past summer, the 24-year-old pleaded guilty to charges related to the death of her two-year-old son, Colton Turner back in 2014.

The child was found in a shallow grave in southeast Austin. 

The prosecution started out the punishment hearing Monday morning by describing Meagan Work as a "dangerous and violent criminal."  

They believe it was Work who delivered the fatal blow to her son Colton Turner, not her boyfriend Michael. 

The first witness was a cousin of Work's who had seen photos of Colton on Facebook covered in bruises.  These photos sparked the police investigation and would come up repeatedly through Monday's hearing.

Next to take the stand, a longtime friend of Meagan's who testified she once showed up at Work's home to find the infant Turner there alone.  Another witness later testified to this same thing, Work leaving Colton alone for hours while out dancing at a club. 

One witness testified to seeing Michael Turner violently spank young Colton for having an accident in his pants.  The witness claimed Meagan rolled her eyes while telling him to stop.

Both law enforcement and a couple of Work's friends testified to the misinformation she was spreading about where Colton was.  

One of Work's friends told the court while Work was staying with her, she would act like she was on the phone with her son who she claimed was staying with family.  She would even "baby talk" to him.  But never allowed her friend to speak to him.  

Once Cedar Park Police were alerted about the photos of Colton bruised they approached Work who told them Colton was with a friend in Sachse, Texas. 

That friend from Sachse was present in court.  She testified Sachse Police knocked on her door late one night and asked to look around for Colton.  Obviously he wasn't there.  But while officers spoke with her at her house she got a text from Work asking her to tell Sachse Police she'd been watching Colton.  The officers took photos of the text message.

The hearing resumes Tuesday morning at 9am.