EVERETT — A 19-year-old who abandoned her newborn in a trash compactor last year is on track to regain parental custody.
Someday, Samantha Houston will have to explain to her son that she almost killed him, a Snohomish County judge said Monday.
“I wish I could take back what happened,” Houston said, sobbing.
She was sentenced Monday to six months in jail. She has to start her sentence by Friday morning.
If Houston hadn’t pleaded guilty in March to felony abandonment, she likely would have faced trial for attempted murder, deputy prosecutor Laura Twitchell said.
The boy was “the most helpless victim there could be, the most powerless and vulnerable,” Twitchell said.
He was left in the trash compactor in Everett on March 25, 2016, not long after Houston gave birth in the shower. He was rescued by an apartment complex worker who heard his cries. The baby was within minutes of being crushed to death, Twitchell said.
Superior Court Judge Richard Okrent denied the prosecutor’s request for a lengthy no-contact order between Houston and the child. He also declined the defense’s request for a first-time offender waiver, which could have spared Houston jail time.
Okrent said he was not convinced that Houston’s crime stemmed from post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. Public defender Whitney Rivera had argued that Houston abandoned the child during a dissociative state.
Twitchell countered that Houston misled police when they first questioned her and she had researched the use of DNA to establish parentage.
Okrent said he was upset, concerned and conflicted about the appropriate sentence. He noted that the separate dependency court case involving Child Protective Services is pending, but that Houston has made “amazing” progress. She has regular supervised visits now.
Still, he told her, “your child nearly died a horrible death.”
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.
Safety of Newborn Children Law
In Washington, mothers can leave their newborns — no questions asked — with a staff member or volunteer at any fire station, rural clinic or hospital emergency room.
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