Pennsylvania mom gets 16 to 40 years after pleading guilty but mentally ill to fatally strangling daughter

EXETER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (TCN) -- A 37-year-old woman has pleaded guilty but mentally ill to third-degree murder in connection with the strangulation death of her 3-year-old daughter in 2022.

On June 30, 2022, first responders arrived at a home after receiving a report of a 3-year-old in cardiac distress, the Reading Eagle reports. Solange J. White reportedly woke up a witness in the home and told him to get a gun. He then asked her what she had done and went to check on the children.

He found the victim was not moving and appeared blue in the face. The witness performed CPR while waiting for first responders. When police arrived, White was reportedly crying near the front door. CBS News reported at the time that White had self-inflicted injuries.

The child was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the Reading Eagle, and White was charged with homicide and related counts and ordered held without bail. WPVI reported at the time that White and her husband had a 1-year-old in the home in addition to the victim.

White pleaded guilty but mentally ill to third-degree murder on Aug. 18 — the day that her trial was scheduled to begin, the Reading Eagle reports. According to the outlet, White’s family had been concerned about her mental health prior to the killing and she had reportedly been preparing to undergo treatment. 

Neighbor Cathy Fry told WPVI that she babysat the victim and said White was suffering from postpartum depression. She said, “She was seeing doctors and she was in a home for a while. I thought she seemed better.”

White has been housed in a state psychiatric facility and waived her right to a speedy trial multiple times, according to the Reading Eagle.

White was sentenced Aug. 20 to 16 to 40 years in prison, according to the Berks County District Attorney.

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