San Marcos

A 39-year-old woman was sentenced Wednesday to four years in state prison in the death of her 13-month-old step-granddaughter, who was shaken to death.

Donna Kirk of San Marcos was taken into custody immediately after San Diego Superior Court Judge Thomas Whelan pronounced sentence and denied her attorney’s request for probation.

Kirk was baby-sitting Erica Bihr on Sept. 27 when the woman called 911 to report that the child was having trouble breathing. The infant was admitted to a hospital, where she died three days later.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Eugenia Eyherabide, who urged a six-year prison term, told the judge that Donna Kirk was angry when she picked up the infant and must have shaken her violently, causing brain injuries.

“We’re talking (about) a violent, violent shaking which caused these injuries,” she said.

Attorney William Fogel, who represents the parents, described in detail the brain and eye injuries the baby suffered.

The infant’s mother and Kirk both cried during the sentencing hearing.

Kirk pleaded guilty in May to involuntary manslaughter and child abuse. She had been indicted in December by the county grand jury on a murder charge, which was later dismissed in a plea bargain.