EVERETT — The south Everett couple accused of nearly starving a boy to death were ordered to serve longer prison sentences Wednesday.
A judge ordered Danny Abegg and his live-in girlfriend, Marilea Mitchell, to stay behind bars for an additional 6 months, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Mark Roe said. Previously they had been given 8-year prison sentences. Now they both must serve 8½ years behind bars.
The couple were convicted of withholding food from Abegg’s 4-year-old son, Shayne.
When Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies rescued the boy in March 2007, he weighed just 25 pounds and couldn’t stand on his own. He hair was falling out and there was virtually no fat on his body.
Abegg and Mitchell were convicted of first-degree criminal misconduct. They were given community supervision as part of their sentences, Roe said.
The court hearing Wednesday was needed to resolve whether the pair were eligible for community supervision upon release from prison. The original sentence called for two years of post-prison monitoring. That condition was ruled inappropriate on appeal.
Since the pair already faced re-sentencing, Roe on Wednesday asked for additional prison time.
A lawsuit over the near-fatal starving was settled for $6 million in March, the largest amount the state Department of Social and Health services has ever agreed to pay for harm to a single child victim.
The settlement was reached on behalf of the boy.
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