Idaho Baby Sitter Charged with Killing 2 Year Old won’t Get Death Penalty

LEWISTON, Idaho -- Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a northern Idaho woman charged with killing a 2-year-old girl she was babysitting. The Lewiston Tribune reports the Nez Perce County Prosecutor's Office earlier this week filed a motion stating the death penalty will not be sought against 29-year-old Natasha N. Hodges.

A grand jury earlier this month indicted Hodges on a first-degree murder charge in the Aug. 30 death of Rylee Mingo. Hodges pleaded not guilty last week. Lewiston police say the young girl and an older sibling had been left in the care of Hodges when their mother went to work.

The younger child began to have breathing difficulty and Hodges called an ambulance. Prosecutors say the child died of internal bleeding after being struck in the abdomen by Hodges.