Woman gets 5 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter of newborn

Emily Usnick was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for the death of her newborn infant in 2009.

Usnick’s attorney, Jason Emmons, asked the judge to give her probation. The prosecution asked for the maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter, which is seven years.

At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Usnick’s attorney called three witnesses to speak on her behalf. Her mother-in-law and her son Anthony talked about how Usnick has worked to better her life in the eight years since the crime.

In May, ABC 17 News reported that Emily Usnick’s baby was found in 2009 wrapped in a trash bag, inside a container, inside the trunk of a car in Miller County.

The jury deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching a verdict during her trial, and she was convicted for involuntary manslaughter. She was found not guilty on the charge of second-degree murder.

Anthony said during his testimony Friday that Usnick changed since 2009. He said she had gotten control of a drug addiction. Prosecutors said that drug addiction had played a main role in the death of the infant, Hannah.

“We as a family stand together, strong. She is the link that binds us all together,” Anthony said. “I almost lost my mom once to an addiction I don’t want to lose her all over again.”

Usnick’s stepmother said that what happened to Hannah was tragic and was something Usnick regretted. She said that Usnick’s toddler, Evan, shouldn’t have to spend any time away from his mother.

“But to hurt another child by removing him and causing him to go without a mother when she has so much to offer him would not be any kind of justice for him,” she said. “He is not in danger from her and he can do nothing but gain from having her in his life.”

In his argument, prosecutor Ronnie Winfrey aruged that there needed to be justice for the infant Hannah.

“(The law) does remember the nameless, the faceless victims, like Hannah Usnick, who will never have an opportunity in life,” he said. “During the defendant’s entire presentation, I heard how this was a tragedy for the entire family and the entire world, but I didn’t hear Hannah’s name hardly once.”

Despite the emotional testimony, Judge John O’Malley sentenced Usnick to five years in prison.

He said during his ruling that he could see Usnick was not an evil person but despite that, she had to be punished for the crime.

Neither Emmons nor Usnick’s family would comment following the sentencing.

A family member who was at the hearing on behalf of the infant Hannah said she was glad there was punishment but she didn’t think it made up for Hannah’s death.

According to the defense during the trial in May, Usnick unexpectedly gave birth to the girl while standing over the toilet in the home in which she lived. The defense claims the baby’s head, and then her torso, went into the water. The defense claims Usnick picked up the baby and placed her in the wastebasket because “it was the only thing that was soft,” according to Emmons.