MERRIMACK, N.H. — A New Hampshire woman has been sentenced to five to 10 years in prison for negligent homicide in the drowning death of her 8-month-old son in a bathtub.
Prosecutors said 28-year-old Melissa Gutierrez of Merrimack left her two children in the tub with the water running in 2011. The other child was 2 years old.
They said she stepped away long enough for the tub to overflow and water to drip to the floor below. Her son, Christian, drowned.
Gutierrez testified Monday that her life was filled with drugs, death and hardship and that she is angry with herself.
Gutierrez can petition the court to suspend the final year of the minimum five years if she completes parenting, life skills and mental health courses.
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