CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : BAKERSFIELD : Mother Sentenced for Starving Child
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
A Ridgecrest woman convicted of starving her infant daughter to death was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison. Tonnette Rae Lee, 29, was convicted of second-degree murder in the Dec. 8, 1988, death of 2-month-old Janelle Lee. The Kern County Superior Court jury also convicted the child’s father, James Lowell Lee, 38, but his sentencing was continued until April 16. Deputy Dist. Atty. Terry P. Pelton said the infant’s weight fell from 5 pounds, 6 ounces at birth on Oct. 1, 1988, to 3 pounds, 5 ounces when she died.
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