MYLEAHYA WOODS - 18 months - (2009) Pensacola FL

08/22/2011 COURT EVENT SET
Event: SENTENCINGS
Date: 10/03/2011 Time: 1:30 pm
Judge: TERRELL, TERRY D Location: M.C. BLANCHARD JUDICIAL BUILDING
242 08/22/2011 JUDGE TERRELL
243 08/22/2011 DEFT IN CUSTODY (PRESENT IN COURT)
244 08/22/2011 PLED NOLO CONTENDERE
245 08/22/2011 PLEA ACCEPTED AFTER INTERROGATION
246 08/22/2011 PRE-SENTENCE INVESTIGATION ORDERED, RET: 9/28/2011 DUE TO ALL PARTIES AND SET FOR 10/3/2011 1:30 SENTENCING
247 08/22/2011 COURT REQUET TONY HENDERSON TO BE NOTIFIED BY DOC PRIOR TO DEFENDANT'S INTERVIEW FOR PSI - MR. HENDERSON REQUEST TO BE PRESENT

http://www.escambiaclerk.com/xml/xml.asp?ucase_id=45850191

Mother to serve 15 years in prison
One-year-old dies after being left alone for days
11:00 PM, Oct. 3, 2011

Christian Woods holds a certificate of completion for a parenting class and some photos of her kids Monday after Judge Terry Terrell sentenced her to 15 years in prison followed by 30 years of probation for the charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child in the 2009 death of her daughter.

Christian Woods was described Monday as a loving and doting mother of three who fell on rough times just before she stuffed her dead daughter in a trash can in 2009.

Woods, 23, left her three young children home alone from Oct. 10 to Oct. 12. When she returned, Myleahya Woods, 1, was dead. Woods was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.

Woods' family members testified during a two-hour sentencing hearing Monday that she should be treated for depression rather than go to prison for Myleahya's death.

Instead, Judge Terry Terrell sentenced Woods to 15 years in prison and 30 years of probation in the death.

The sentence also covers two counts of child neglect causing great bodily harm that Woods was charged with involving her other young children — Mykayhla, Myleahya's twin, and the girls' brother, Jaterius.

"In balancing all the interests, there is not a sentence that is going to be satisfactory to everyone but at this time I do find there is basis for a somewhat mitigated sentence," the judge said.

Woods pleaded no contest to the charges. The maximum sentence she could have received was 60 years.

Woods' mother, Gloria Woods, said her daughter is a protective parent who makes a big deal out of her children's birthdays.

She testified that sending her daughter to prison would be traumatic for her and the family.

"I know what happened is a crime," Gloria Woods said. "I also know that I don't want to see Chrissy go to prison."

Christian Woods apologized before she was sentenced.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "If I knew that Myleahya would have died, if I knew that Mykayhla would almost die ... I would have done everything differently."

Woods said she got into financial difficulty when her boyfriend left her in 2009.

"He said he didn't want to play father to my children anymore," she said.

Woods said her car was repossessed and she lost her job.

She said she went to friends for financial help and they bought food stamps from her. She said she also allowed someone to grow marijuana in her home for cash.

Assistant Public Defender Clint Davis said except for a period in 2009 between September and October, Woods was a good mother. He said that is when she went on a downward spiral of depression and "everything in her world fell apart."

The siblings were left alone at a home in the 5600 block of Scotland Circle that didn't have electricity or running water. Jell-O cups were left in the living room for the children to eat.

When Woods returned home Oct. 12, she found Myleahya dead and put the girl's body in the trash.

She called the Escambia County Sheriff's Office to report Myleahya missing.

Investigators questioned Woods for about 12 hours before she admitted that Myleahya was dead, and she thought Mykayhla still was alive.

Assistant State Attorney Lee Robinson said Woods misled investigators concerning the whereabouts of the children before telling them the twins were at the home.

Investigators found Myleahya in a trash can behind the home. Mykayhla was in a bedroom barely alive.

"(Christian Woods) didn't have any problems taking caring of herself, but she left them to die," Robinson said.

http://www.pnj.com/article/20111004/NEWS01/110040311/Mother-serve-15-years-prison?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE