Woman branded 'Half-Ton Killer' Mayra Rosales loses 600 lbs

MAYRA Rosales weighed a shocking 600 lbs at her heaviest. Doctors say she was the fattest living woman.

But that's not what the Texan became known for around the world.

In one of the most complicated and drawn-out murder trials in the state's history, Mayra confessed to crushing her two-year-old nephew, Junior, to death.

Authorities had to cut a hole in the brick wall of her home to remove her when it came time to face a judge. And paramedics had to carry her on a stretcher because she couldn't walk.

If she was found guilty of the boy's death, there were questions about whether there would be a dose of lethal injection big enough to kill her, such was her staggering weight.

That was 2008. She was eventually acquitted of the charges in 2011.

In the five years since the boy's harrowing death, Rosales has dropped more than half her weight and vowed never to be one of the world's fattest women again.

Transformation: Mayra Rosales, once the world's heaviest woman, has lost a staggering 600lbs in the five years since she shot to fame as the 'Half-Ton Killer'. Her new life is revealed in an upcoming TLC special

Half the woman she used to be, Mayra Rosales, pictured with her cousin. Source: Facebook

US television network TLC will air a special documentary next month, tracking Rosales' progress through the surgeries, physical therapy and rehabilitation that contributed to the astounding weight loss.

With her new 180kg body, Rosales is now leaing to do everyday activities like grocery shopping and job hunting, which her obesity once precluded her from.

She was spurred to lose weight for fear of her life.

In a trailer for the TLC special, she can be seen carried on a stretcher and loaded into a moving van because she's too fat to fit into an ambulance.

"At this point, if things don't change, I'm going to die," she says.

At her heaviest, Mayra weighed 600 lbs and was confined to her bed for two years. Source: YouTube

Ironically, it was her belief that she was on death's door that originally led her to confess to her nephew's murder.

She was eventually acquitted of the charge when it was discovered she was too fat to roll on to the boy and smother him as she claimed.

Her sister, the boy's mother, is serving 15 years' jail for abusing the boy, and it was revealed Mayra was covering for her kin.

"I thought I was dying anyway so I decided to admit that I'd done it to protect my sister because I love her," she said.

Facebook pictures reveal a slimmer Mayra. Source: Facebook

Today, Mayra, aged 32, has been given a second chance at life. She says she wants to become physically fit enough to adopt and take care of her nieces and nephews.

TLC is keeping Mayra's current appearance a secret until the special airs, but Facebook photos obtained by The Daily Mail reveal a much slimmer woman.