According to a Boulder County news release, a Colorado mother has entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder in relation to the death of her 2-month-old son in 2023.
Anna Englund, 31, was promptly sentenced to 40 years in jail following her guilty plea on August 7. Englund, who killed his son Miles Basellio by strangulation, had first-degree murder charges against him dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
“This guilty plea and lengthy sentence is the right result in this very sad case,” District Attorney Michael Dougherty stated in the news release. “It is heartbreaking to acknowledge the immense emotional toll on the baby’s father and family, as well as all the police officers who desperately tried to prevent this tragic murder.”
Authorities were contacted for a welfare check on a lady who may be experiencing a mental health crisis on June 10, 2023, at 4:30 p.m., according to police, as reported by 9 NBC News.
The way Englund was acting with the baby and his mental state had worried Miles’ father. According to the release, Englund took advantage of the child’s need to use the restroom to escape the house, drove to a destination, and then strangled the youngster.
In the end, she admitted to killing the child “because I didn’t want him to suffer in life like I have,” according to an affidavit obtained by The Denver Post.
She told officials that “she was worried about all of the things that could happen” to Miles since “the world was ‘crazy,'” according to the affidavit.
Officers notified neighboring law enforcement agencies of the mother and child’s disappearance and sent out an attempt-to-locate alert for Englund. For several hours, Englund drove about with the infant while the police kept looking for them.
In the end, the youngster was discovered dead at a hospital where Englund was discovered almost six hours following the call for a welfare check. According to the affidavit, Englund eventually confessed to authorities that she had been looking for a spot to commit herself.
According to 9 NBC News, which cites court documents, Englund visited the hospital twice previously for suicidal thoughts prior to the June 2023 incident. Additionally, Englund was in Boulder Community Health, the hospital where the two had been discovered, according to Miles’ father, who also told the outlet that the physicians had released her after a few days for both visits.
Even though the father of Englund and Miles revealed her mental health condition, a judge determined in November of last year that she was fit to face trial. Still, she opted for a plea bargain.