DeQuincy Woman Pleads Guilty In 2008 Death Of Stepchild

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — A DeQuincy woman has pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the 2008 death of her 5-year-old stepdaughter.

The American Press reports 34-year-old Barbara Virginia Vincent did not receive prison time. She has spent nearly three years in jail.

Judge David Ritchie sentenced Vincent Friday to a five-year suspended term and five years' probation. Vincent was given credit for the time she spent in jail.

Vincent and the child's father, 35-year-old William Stewart Vincent, were indicted in 2010 on a charge of second-degree murder. All charges against William Vincent were dropped.

At the time of the indictment, authorities said Savannah Vincent had suffered blunt-force trauma to the head. Prosecutors now say a "below-standard" level of care resulted in the child's death in May of 2008.

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