Justice for Steward : Leonardo Espinal , 49 , has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for killing his 5-year-old son by lacing his children 's pizza with rat poison . A New York City man has been sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for killing his 5-year-old son and sickening his 7-year-old daughter with pizza spiked with rat poison because he was angry with his ex-wife . After learning that his former spouse was seeing another man , Leonardo Espinal , 49 , took it out on their children in November 2012 by tainting their meal with a deadly poison , Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said Thursday after the sentencing . The little girl , Mia , threw up after eating the pizza . When her brother , Steward , soiled himself , their father took him into the bathroom . He then called Rosaura Abreu and threatened to commit suicide telling her , 'what is about to happen is your fault . ' Espinal and Abreu had been together for about a decade before she kicked him out of their apartment two weeks before the domestic drama . The woman made a frantic phone call to Espinal 's stepmother , who then contacted police . Officers broke down the bathroom door , only to find Espinal in the tub cradling his son 's lifeless , naked body . Steward died from a combination of the poison and being submerged in water . Mia Espinal was found sleeping in her own vomit on the couch . Innocent : Steward Espinal , 5 , was found dead in the bathtub from a combination of the poison and being submerged in water in November 2012 . Espinal ( center ) did not speak in court , but the presiding judge told him she was glad to send him to prison . Impact statement : Assistant District Attorney Jill Starishevsky ( right ) read aloud an emotional impact statement composed by Steward and Mia 's mother . At his sentencing Thursday , Espinal did not speak , but Justice Troy Webber had a strong message for the child killer . 'If only he had ingested that pizza and it had done its job , ' she said , according to New York Daily News . The judge wondered aloud how a parent , or any human being , could commit such a heinous crime , and said : ' I 'm glad to put you in prison . ' Rosaura Abreu delivered an emotional victim impact statement that was written in Spanish , translated into English and read by a prosecutor in court . ' I will never forget the last time I saw my little son . ... He was radiant , happy , content and followed me all around the house . 'When it was time for me to leave , he followed me to the door and I knelt down to talk with him . It 's as if my heart knew that it would be the last time I would see him alive . ' On November 6 , 2012 , Steward told his mother that he loved her as she was about to leave their University Heights apartment . They hugged and she said 'that I loved him from the bottom of my heart , more than own life . ' After the crime , Mia Espinal suffered anxiety attacks at the mere mention of returning to the apartment . Crime scene : The murder took place in the family 's West 179th Street apartment in The Bronx . 'She never wanted to sleep in the same bed where she slept with her Steward , protecting him from monsters , ' their mother said . Therapy has helped them , but is by no means a cure-all . 'Mia suffers a great deal when she goes to parties , when she goes to bed , when she plays with other children , when she sees photos of him , when she sees another boy the same age as him , when she sees me sad because she knows I am thinking of him , ' Abreu said . Espinal pleaded guilty last month to murder and attempted murder . 'All we can do , ' said Abreu , 'is take it day by day . ' Assistant District Attorney Jill Starishevsky stated : 'Mia will have to live the rest of her life with the horrific memory that her own father caused in attempting to kill her , ' according to News 12 The Bronx .
Leonardo Espinal , 49 , pleaded guilty last month to murder and attempted murder in the death of his son , Steward Espinal , in November 2012 . Steward Espinal Espinal died from a combination of the poison and being submerged in water ; his sister , Mia , survived . Justice Troy Webber said of Espinal : 'If only he had ingested that pizza and it had done its job '