14 DAY TRIAL // 42-year-old ex-school nurse Mollie Parsons, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the malnutrition-related death of 14-year-old Makayla Norman.
Parsons floored judges and prosecutors as she pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge, without striking a deal with the prosecution beforehand. Had she done so, she was facing three years in prison.
She was also found guilty of tampering with records to cover up her abuse. As tables were turned, Parsons was sentenced to 10 years in jail, the maximum penalty for her crime, the Inquisitr reports.
Makayla Norman suffered from cerebral palsy, and weighed just 28 pounds (12 kg) before her death, in 2011, in one of the worst cases of malnutrition the Ohio coroner, handling her examination, had ever witnessed.
“She basically starved to death. It’s one of these cases that cries out for justice,” said Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck.
The cerebral palsy patient suffered from neglect, not just in her diet, but from a medical standpoint. She was found in repulsive, unhygienic conditions, with bedsores all over her body.
Parsons was a full-time licensed nurse, responsible for caring for the teenager six days a week, in the family's Dayton home. Makayla's condition confined her to her home and made her dependent on her mother and her nurse's care.
Three others were tried and found guilty in the Makayla Norman case. Mother Angela Norman also pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, and is currently serving her nine-year sentence. She was accused of failing to provide proper food and care for her daughter.
Nurses Mary Kilby and Kathryn Williams were both sentenced to five years of probation for failing to report the situation to proper authorities. Williams was supposed to be checking in on Parsons, supervising the case, monthly or at least once every two months, while Kilby was meant to assess Makayla's living conditions every 6 months.