Phoenix woman gets 37-year prison sentence in death of her baby from malnutrition, medical neglect

PHOENIX (AP) — A Phoenix woman has been sentenced to 37 years in prison for the 2013 death of her baby daughter from malnutrition and medical neglect, authorities said Tuesday.

Maricopa County prosecutors said 48-year-old Denise Janelle Snow-Ingram was convicted last November on one count each of second-degree murder and child abuse.

Evidence presented at trial showed the 16-month-old girl weighed less than nine pounds at the time of her death in July 2013.

Prosecutors said the baby was fed only oatmeal, watered-down apple juice and some fruit while being offered no source of protein or calcium after breastfeeding was stopped.

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The child also was suffering from Rickets, a disease caused by a lack of Vitamin D. She died at a hospital after an ambulance was called to the parent’s home on a report of a child not breathing.

The girl’s parents told police they never took her to a doctor because of their religious beliefs.

Snow-Ingram “allowed her daughter to physically waste away because of her neglect and mistreatment,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said. “This was a child who stood no chance of surviving in the hands of her own parents.”

Snow-Ingram got prison terms of 20 and 17 years with the sentences to be served consecutively.

Authorities said Ernest Ingram, the girl’s father, was sentenced to prison in 2022 for manslaughter and child abuse.