Mom who stuffed newborn in bag gets 30 days in jail
Stephanie Marie DeLuca was placed on probation for 36 months by 3rd District Judge Royal Hansen. The judge also ordered DeLuca to take parenting classes, get any necessary mental health care and perform 50 hours of community service.
The sentence appeared to disappoint both the prosecutor and the defense attorney in the case, and DeLuca later wept in the hallway outside the courtroom.
She had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree felony child abuse as part of a plea bargain. The judge sentenced her to zero to five years in prison but suspended the prison time.
Defense attorney Robert Archuleta had argued that DeLuca, who was 18 at the time of the March 2 incident, didn't know she was pregnant and thought the pain she experienced came from a cyst. He said that after DeLuca unexpectedly gave birth in a bathroom, she began bleeding severely and lost nearly a quart of blood.
He contended his client was stunned by these unexpected events and was not in her right state of mind because of the substantial blood loss. Court documents also state DeLuca thought the child was dead.
"Under the totality of circumstances, the case warrants mercy," Archuleta told the judge. "This offense was really due to negligence, not recklessness."
But prosecutor Angela Micklos argued that DeLuca should spend a year in jail because what she did merited serious punishment.
"We can't take children's lives so lightly," Micklos said.
Had the baby died, Micklos said DeLuca would be looking at a prison sentence and the state already has offered DeLuca "considerable leniency" by accepting a plea bargain for a lesser offense. She originally faced a second-degree felony charge that carries a potential sentence of one to 15 years in prison.
"The fact that this baby is alive and well today is not something the defendant should get credit for," Micklos said.
She added that DeLuca lied about being pregnant to emergency workers who arrived to attend to her bleeding. The rescue crew ended up finding the infant, who had been born alive but was unresponsive when found.
"It is due to the skilled intervention of the medical team at the scene" that the baby survived, Micklos said.
The judge allowed DeLuca to report for her jail term Oct. 10.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com
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