Rachel Fryer, the Seminole County mother accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, took a plea deal Tuesday and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

  • Rachel Fryer was accused of murdering daughter Tariji Gordon
  • She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder
  • Fryer was also investigated in 2011 for the death of her son, Tariji's twin brother
  • The woman who now cares for Fryer's other children calls her a "serial abuser"

Fryer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and will also have 30 years of probation after her prison sentence. She faced the death sentence.

Two-year-old Tariji Gordon, of Sanford, was reported missing on Feb. 10, 2014. The girl's body was found two days later in Putnam County.

Sanford Police said Fryer admitted to burying her dead child in a shallow grave in Crescent City in February 2014. At the time, Fryer was charged with aggravated child abuse.

Penny Jones is now the legal mother of Fryer's other children. She issued this statement Tuesday:

"Our family is devastated by the outcome of today’s hearing. It is our belief that Rachel Fryer is a serial abuser and will one day hurt another regardless of the parameters in place. A systematic failure to protect Tariji and Tavante Gordon is evident. By pleading her case then the overwhelming evidence will never be heard by a jury. We will move on knowing that Love Conquers All but with less faith in those elected officials that take an oath to serve and protect."

Jones adopted Fryer's other children in 2015. She was also, at one point, a long-term foster mother for Tariji Gordon.