DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - An Ankeny mother whose baby died after becoming wedged between a mattress and a wall has been given two years of probation.
Court records say 33-year-old Michelle Atwell was fined $1,000 at her sentencing Monday in Des Moines and given a deferred judgment. A deferred judgment allows her conviction to be removed from court records if she completes her probation terms. Atwell had pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance for sale.
Police were called to the Ankeny home of Atwell and Matthew Cohara on Aug. 26, 2017, after the 7-month-old was found not breathing. Police say the baby became wedged and suffocated after Atwell left her on the bed for hours after feeding her. An autopsy found a cocaine byproduct in the baby’s system.
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Cohara was given a similar sentence.
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