ANNISTON, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama woman has pleaded guilty in the death of her 4-month-old son, who was left in a hot car.
Calhoun County authorities say 36-year-old Katherine Papke of Anniston pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of criminally negligent homicide.
The Army private originally was charged with manslaughter and leaving a child unattended in the death of son Bennett Owen Smith.
A statement from prosecutors says the woman was overwhelmed by work and personal obligations when she forgot the boy in the back seat of her vehicle on Aug. 9, 2013.
The woman went on to work, and the boy was later discovered in the car.
Papke was accepted into a diversionary program and won’t have to spend time in jail. Prosecutors say she’s still haunted by the boy’s death.
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