APPLETON, WI (WLUK) — A mother convicted in the co-sleeping death of her 2-month old son was sentenced Friday to four years in prison. 36-year-old Nicole Sobay was convicted of one count of neglecting a child with the consequence of death. Prosecutors said she had been sleeping in the same bed with her 2-month-old son, Amari, in Appleton in June, 2017. She woke up to find the baby face-down and not responding.
She spoke to the court, saying the moment of her child’s death “ripped a hole in my heart and shattered my soul with cauterizing permanence.”
Her blood tested positive for methamphetamine, opiates, and cannabis.
In her 12-minute statement before the sentence was issued, she recounted the poor choices she made with the people she surrounded herself with, and the events of the day. Sobay said she would not have intentionally hurt Amari.
“There’s not the right set of words to scream how incredibly sorry I am for the excruciating, most devastating, heartbreaking event that took place,” she said. “We’re all living a life sentence already: emotionally, mentally, spiritually, traumatized by absolute sadness, turmoil, shame, guilt, regret. I’ll humbly ask you to have mercy on me, and let me go home to be with my oldest son. We need each other.”
Judge Mitchell Metropulos said between the severity of the offense and her addition treatment needs, prison was necessary.
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