US mum gets life for child microwave death

A US mother has been sentenced to life in prison for putting her daughter in a microwave oven for up to five minutes.

A 34-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison over the microwave-oven death of her one-month-old daughter.

A California judge on Friday imposed the 26-years-to-life sentence on Ka Yang.

She was convicted of first-degree murder and assault for putting Mirabelle Thao-Lo in a microwave oven for up to five minutes in 2011. Prosecutors say the child sustained fatal thermal injuries.

Investigators found the infant's pacifier in the microwave at their Sacramento-area home.

Yang's lawyer says her client had an epileptic seizure and didn't know what she was doing.

She has a history of seizures, but paramedics say she wasn't disoriented when they arrived.

She told investigators she blacked out and awoke to find the baby injured next to a space heater.

Yang has three other children.


Share
1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world