NICHOLAS MILLER - 17 Months (2009) - Northfield MN

The mother of a 17-month-old toddler, who died after his stepfather
shook him, admitted Friday that she did not get her son medical
treatment after he was injured.
Melissa Louise Ohmann, 20,
formerly Hokanson, pleaded guilty in Dakota County District Court to
second-degree manslaughter. In court, Ohmann explained what happened in
the days after the shaking incident that caused her child to stop
eating, walking and finally breathing.
"It was apparent within a
day or two that the child's physical condition had deteriorated to the
point of where he needed medical attention," Chief Deputy Dakota County
Attorney Phil Prokopowicz said. "And she failed to take him to the
hospital."
There was no evidence that Ohmann, of Northfield,
committed the abuse, or that she knew her former husband, Tylar James
Hokanson, had abused her son, Prokopowicz said.
Hokanson, 25,
repeatedly shook Nicholas A. Miller on June 19, 2009, at their
Northfield home. A jury convicted Hokanson of murder, and he was
sentenced to life in prison.
Weeks after that conviction, Ohmann
was charged with felony counts of manslaughter and child endangerment
and a gross misdemeanor count of child neglect.
In Friday's plea
agreement, Ohmann admitted to a manslaughter charge that would carry a
jail sentence of between six months to a year, Prokopowicz said.
Ohmann also would be sentenced to four years in prison, which she may have to serve if she fails to follow court orders.
Judge Erica MacDonald
ordered
Ohmann to have a psychological evaluation and return for sentencing.
MacDonald will review the evaluation before accepting the plea, she
said.
Ohmann is scheduled for sentencing June 12.
Her
attorney, Christopher Lehmann, declined to comment Friday on the plea.
Ohmann is currently out of custody. She has two other children, who are
not in her care.
The county attorney's office received more than
20 emails from the public asking that Ohmann face criminal charges for
her part in Nicholas' death. A Facebook page created in memory of
Nicholas has garnered more than 2,300 supporters. On Friday, many people
posted messages saying they were angry because of Ohmann's plea
agreement.
Nicholas died June 23, 2009, from multiple instances of
blunt-force trauma. He also was bleeding in his brain and had a
fractured back, with fluid leaking into his lung cavity.
According
to charges against Ohmann, the county medical examiner and a child
abuse expert said Nicholas could have survived the injuries with medical
treatment.
On the night of the assault, Ohmann heard Nicholas
crying out and walked into another room, where she took the toddler away
from her husband, the charges said. Hokanson later told police that he
shook Nicholas 10 to 15 times with a force he rated 5 or 6 on a scale of
10.
Over the next four days, Ohmann watched her son's health
decline, the charges said. She later told authorities that the day after
the assault, Nicholas appeared to lose color, had difficulty moving and
had no appetite.
His health continued to decline and he appeared to be in pain, she told police.
The
couple took him to Maiden Rock, Wis., where Hokanson's parents lived.
On June 23, Nicholas turned blue and stopped breathing. Family members
performed CPR, but he couldn't be revived. When he died, he had multiple
bruises on his face.