Mother gets jail, probation for death of son, 4, in kayak tragedy
LANSING — The mother of a 4-year-old boy who died after falling from a kayak into an icy lake in early 2022 was sentenced to probation and jail Wednesday in connection with the boy's death.
Claire Elizabeth Powers, 34, who pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in September, fought back sobs while describing her grief over the death of Liam Powers. She said she "didn't seek any harm" to her only child when she took him on a kayak ride at Lake Lansing on a cold March day.
The boy was not wearing a coat or a life jacket, police said.
"This case is a true tragedy all the way around," Ingham County Circuit Judge Jim Jamo noted as he sentenced Powers to three years' probation, with a year in jail. Powers will get six days credit for time served, and must comply with conditions that include mental health assessment and treatment.
Powers was charged with second-degree murder in January 2023, about 10 months after the boy fell into icy water in an area of the lake off Shaw Street, just south of Lake Lansing Park South. Rescuers pulled her and her son from the water and took them to a hospital, where the boy was pronounced dead.
Powers told police she placed her son into a kayak and pushed them away from shore, even though she had to break ice with a paddle to do so, according to court records. She said the boy was knocked into the water when the kayak hit a patch of ice.
The case was quietly resolved in September, when Powers pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter with an agreement that her sentence would fall within the range of one to two years' incarceration. A no-contest plea is not a formal admission of guilty, but is treated as a conviction for sentencing.
Liam was a "sweet child with a playful demeanor," his father, Mark Powers, told Jamo Wednesday. The boy was "a skinny 44 pounds" with long hair and loved riding his bike, watching "Clifford the Big Red Dog" on television and "eating blackberries right from the bush," his father said.
"I miss hearing his laugh and seeing his smile," Mark Powers said. "My heart hurts every day because Liam is no longer here."
He said Claire Powers was responsible for protecting him that day and deserves prison time.
Mark and Claire Powers were divorced in December 2021, court records indicate.
Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor Angela DelVero said she doesn't doubt the mother is grief-stricken. But she noted there's been little discussion about what prompted her to act as she did on the day Liam died.
"The reason why this was charged as a crime ... is because there were a series of choices that she made that put her and her toddler in the middle of a frozen lake that ultimately led to his death," DelVero said.
Powers' attorney, Deputy Chief Ingham County Public Defender Stephen Cornish, said Powers has been punished enough by the loss of her only child. Powers has struggled with mental health issues and has been in therapy because of the tragedy, he said.
"Sending her off to prison … doesn’t seem like it would be very fruitful in rehabilitating her," he said.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Mother gets jail, probation for death of son, 4, in kayak tragedy
