DETROIT – A Detroit mother was sentenced Thursday morning in the death of her newborn daughter after the baby girl was found in a garbage can.
Glencetta Gloster-Washington, 39, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Gloster-Washington gave birth to the baby girl at her home in the 3500 block of Yorkshire in Detroit. Family members of Gloster-Washington discovered her bleeding and the baby's father took her to a hospital for treatment on March 26, 2017.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Newborn baby girl found dead in trash bin behind Detroit home
Hospital staff determined that the woman had recently given birth. Police went to Gloster-Washington's home where they discovered the remains of the newborn in a garbage can. The baby's father, 40, told authorities he didn't know his wife gave birth to the child.
She was originally charged with first-degree murder and concealing the death of an individual.
The mother's attorney asked for leniency, calling the death tragic and calling into question the mental health of Gloster-Washington.
"The fact of the matter is that this baby went to the morgue without a name, smothered by her mother, left in a garbage can," the prosecutor responded.
Gloster-Washington’s is a mother to five other children and was an employee of the U.S. Postal Service for 14 years.
“I just want to say that I’m sorry for everything that happened and I didn’t mean for none of this to happen,” Gloster-Washington said at sentencing.
Gloster-Washington was sentenced to 9 to 20 years in prison.