Meth Mom Left Baby To Freeze To Death

A Montana mother-of-two who allowed her infant to freeze to death in frigid temperatures inside her home could avoid punishment.

Two years ago, Misty Marie Cutburth of Great Lakes, Montana, left her apartment windows open on a night where the temperature had dropped below zero which caused her baby to die of hypothermia, a prosecutor said.

The 24-year-old mom pleaded no contest on Wednesday to felony criminal endangerment, which carries a 10-year maximum prison sentence. A plea deal the mother signed with prosecutors recommends that she get 10 years in prison. However, the penalty will be suspended if she's accepted into a drug rehab program, a judge ruled.

Police responded to a call at the apartment building on Jan. 12, 2016 regarding an unresponsive baby, the Great Falls Tribune reported. When officers arrived, they discovered all the bedroom windows were left open and the room was freezing cold. During that week, nighttime temperatures averaged 32 degrees.

The child, 10-month-old Kendall, was found in the bathroom about 15 feet from where her mother was sleeping. The child's temperature did not register on a thermometer, court records show. The infant was rushed the Benefis Health System hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Noah Scott, lead investigator and a detective with the Great Falls Police Department's special victims unit, testified on Wednesday that the baby’s cause of death was indeed hypothermia. Tin foil found inside the apartment tested positive for methamphetamine, Scott said. Police found Cutburth’s fingerprints on the foil and a sample of the baby’s hair showed she had been "chronically exposed" to meth.

In October 2015, two prior Department of Family Services reports were filed concerning Cutburth’s alleged drug use inside her home. Court documents showed that Cutburth was convicted in 2013 in Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho, for possession of drug paraphernalia, the Great Falls Tribune reported.

Judge Greg Pinski ruled that Cutburth will attend drug court on Tuesday and that she undergo a drug screening before her sentencing. A date for her sentencing has yet to be determined.