Woman kills baby with methadone, sentenced to 30 years

                       Courtney Howell                       (C)PoliceHandout

Courtney Howell, 27, admitted to giving her 17-month-old daughter a lethal dose of methadone, in an attempt to make her fall asleep. In a move that backfired, the child died from what the autopsy determined to be acute methadone toxicity. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, investigators found traces of the drug (a painkiller sometimes used to treat heroin addiction) in baby bottles in Howell's home months after the death of her child. Her defense attorney said that Howell has struggled with drug addiction and had a prescription for methadone.

Howell's 17 month old daughter

Howell pleaded guilty to manslaughter and exposing a child to a controlled substance. "Trying to forgive myself is an endless battle I struggle with daily," Howell said in court. "I can't make up my wrong by giving my little girl back her life." However, Judge David Hamilton said that Howell had been reckless in her life choices, pointing out that her baby had been born addicted to methadone.
Howell has since been sentenced to 30 years in prison i.e. she is to serve two consecutive 15-year prison terms