SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont woman convicted of manslaughter in the death of her disabled son, who had vodka poured into his feeding tube, has been granted a sentence reduction.
Melissa Robitille, 43, of Hardwick, was sentenced in 2017 to four to 12 years in prison. Robitille had been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 alcohol poisoning death of her 13-year-old son, Isaac.
A judge imposed a new sentence Friday that cut six months off the minimum court sentence Robitille is currently serving at Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington, according to court documents. Robitille had asked for her sentence to be reduced so she could participate in a transitional housing program, the Caledonian Record reported Monday.
Robitille’s boyfriend, Walter Richters, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Isaac’s death. He also agreed to testify against the boy’s mother who police said approved giving her son vodka through the intravenous tube because the child was “being fussy.”
Prosecutors said Isaac was blind, had no ears, a cleft palate and developmental delays.
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