Mom gets 9 years in Ohio teen's malnutrition death

CINCINNATI – The mother of a 14-year-old girl who had cerebral palsy and weighed 28 pounds when she died last year was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison.

Angela Norman was sentenced in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court in Dayton, county prosecutor's spokesman Greg Flannagan said. Norman, a Dayton resident, pleaded guilty last month to a first-degree felony count of involuntary manslaughter and to single misdemeanor and felony counts of endangering children. A grand jury had indicted Norman on all three charges last November. The judge could have sentenced her to a maximum 10 years in prison, Flannagan said.

Authorities say Norman's daughter, Makayla, had numerous bed sores and showed other signs of neglect when she died March 1, 2011. The girl died from nutritional and medical neglect complicated by her chronic condition and was the "worst malnourished child this office has ever seen," the coroner's office director, Ken Betz, said.

Norman's attorney didn't immediately return calls for comment Thursday.

County prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. has said that the home was vile and filthy and that the 43-year-old Norman didn't provide sufficient food or proper care for the child, resulting in her death.

He said in a statement Thursday that Norman "completely shirked her responsibilities" in the care of her daughter.

"Makayla was unable to care for herself and was totally dependent upon others to provide for her well-being and ensure her health and safety," Heck said.

Three nurses, who also were indicted on charges in the case, have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Mollie E. Parsons, 42, of Dayton, was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, failing to provide for a functionally impaired person and tampering with records. Kathryn Williams, 42, of Englewood, and Mary K. Kilby, 63, of Miamisburg, both registered nurses, were each indicted on charges of failing to provide for a functionally impaired person and failing to report child abuse or neglect.

The teen was confined to her home and was supposed to be cared for by her mother and Parsons, whose job was to administer care to the girl six days a week, according to the prosecutor.

Williams was to supervise Parsons, visit and inspect the living conditions, and do a physical assessment of the girl every 30 to 60 days, and Kilby was scheduled to visit every six months to check on conditions in the home and assess the girl's health, needs and care, the prosecutor said.

Dayton is about an hour north of Cincinnati.