CAROLINE SMITH-FOSTER - 11 days (2008) - Milford OH

A Miami Township man and a Goshen Township woman were each sentenced to
four years in prison Tuesday in the death of their 11-day-old daughter.
Samantha A. Smith, 25, and John D. Foster, 26, had loved their
child, Caroline, and realized they had failed as parents, they told
Judge Ken Zuk of Clermont County Common Pleas Court.The baby
died Dec. 20 of peritonitis, which was caused by a large perforation of
the bowel. The mom admitted to Milford police she had squeezed the baby
hard, possibly because the child was constipated.However, medical evidence didn't clearly indicate that was the direct cause of death, prosecutors said.Nevertheless,
the parents, who were living together in Milford at the time, knew the
child was sick and didn't take her to a previously scheduled doctor's
appointment.One reason the father gave was that he been up all
night playing video games and was too tired, the judge noted, citing a
report from a presentence investigation.The mother claimed she
didn't go because had been abused by Foster and didn't want anybody to
see an embarrassing bruise, the judge noted.Assistant Prosecutor Scott Smith, who is unrelated to the woman, told the judge that she didn't deserve leniency.She
had been charged as a juvenile with attempted murder in the stabbing of
her stepmother in 2000, the prosecutor said. She was found to be
delinquent on an amended charge of felonious assault, the judge noted.While
out on bond, Samantha Smith became pregnant by a different man, which
indicated her inability to make sound decisions about the welfare of a
child, the prosecutor told the judge."The safest place for the new baby to be born is in prison," Scott Smith told the judge.Zuk said the law didn't allow him to take that into consideration.Before
taking plea deals, Samantha Smith and Foster each faced up to 23 years
in prison on charges of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of
child endangering.The most prison time each could have gotten on the resulting charge of child endangering was five years.One
reason they were initially charged with involuntary manslaughter was
because both gave contradicting and false statements to police, the
judge said. They blamed each other for injuring the child when neither
one really knew what happened.