Michigan Mom Convicted In Toddler's Death Gets 4 Months In Jail
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A Grand Rapids woman convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 18-month-old daughter has been sentenced to four months in jail.
Rebecca Cotes was accused of gross negligence in the death of Hannah Hoag, who suffocated last March after a tracheal tube slipped out. She was sentenced Monday, three months after trial.
Kent County Judge George Quist says there was no intent to do harm, but he felt some time in jail was appropriate.
Cotes told jurors that Hannah wasn't connected to a blood-oxygen monitoring device because it was malfunctioning and setting off a false alarm.
There was testimony that Cotes stopped an overnight nursing service. Hannah was adopted.
Prosecutor Christopher Becker said after the verdict that the level of care for Hannah was "not just an accident."
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