Judge Brad Zell sentenced Theresa Bentaas to 10 years in prison, with nine years suspended and credit for 73 days served, in the death of “Baby Andrew” in 1981.
Zell said it was inconclusive if the baby was still alive when Bentaas had just given birth and put the hours-old child wrapped in a blanket in a ditch near 33rd Street and Sycamore Avenue on February 28, 1981.
Bentaas, now 60, was 19 at the time.
A psychiatrist testified Thursday (Dec. 2, 2021) that Bentaas suffered from “complete pregnancy denial syndrome” for both the birth of Andrew and the birth of her daughter Melissa five years later.
Zell ordered Bentaas to report to the Minnehaha County Jail for processing to the South Dakota Women’s Prison in Pierre on January 15, 2022.
(KELO.com Radio contributed to this story.)
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