Dallas girl sentenced to 40 years for drowning baby
By Lisa Maria Garza DALLAS (Reuters) - A 14-year-old Dallas girl was sentenced by a juvenile court judge on Friday to 40 years in custody, the maximum punishment available, after admitting to drowning an infant in January, court officials said. The teenager will begin serving her sentence in state custody of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. A judge will determine whether she is eligible for parole before her 19th birthday or should be transferred to an adult prison. The baby belonged to a family friend who was in jail. Child Protective Services had placed the infant in the home of the teenage girl's mother at the request of the baby's mother, according to police. Investigators said the girl confessed to submerging 2-month-old Justice Hull in a bowl of water because she did not want her mother to adopt the baby. The teenager's mother was at work at the time of the incident. The teenager's lawyer was not immediately available for comment. (Editing by Jon Herskovitz)
