Spring Valley woman who killed newborn son gets 12 years in prison

SPRING VALLEY (WABC) -- The Rockland County woman who pleaded guilty to strangling her newborn son was sentenced to 12 years in prison Monday.

Maria Oliva Guaman-Guaman admitted to putting the infant's body in a recycling dumpster after strangling him last November.

The body was found the next day at a recycling plant in Westchester County.

Guaman-Guaman pleaded guilty to manslaughter in June. After her release, she will be subject to five years of supervision.

Two independent psychiatrists examined the woman -- Dr. Marc E. Tarle by the defense and Dr. Dominic Ferro by the prosecution. Dr. Tarle determined that Guaman-Guaman had an IQ of only 53, having suffered brain damage when she was kicked in the head by a horse at the age of 7. Both psychiatrists found that at the time of the homicide she had suffered an extreme emotional disturbance.

Guaman-Guaman is a native of Ecuador who is in the United States illegally, and as part of the plea, she will face mandatory deportation after completion of her sentence.

"Today's sentence brings to a close a disturbing case of a mother senselessly and violently killing her newborn child," Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe said. "This crime should serve as a reminder that under New York's Safe Haven law, a parent may anonymously surrender an unwanted infant to personnel in a safe place, such as a hospital, a police station or a fire station, without repercussions."