Watch CBS News

Mom Gets 30 Years In Child's Salt Death

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — A mom in South Carolina has pleaded guilty to giving her toddler a lethal amount of salt to try to get her estranged husband to come home.

Spartanburg County prosecutor Barry Barnette said in a news release that 25-year-old Kimberly N. Martines of Fingerville was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for homicide by child abuse.

Seventeen-month-old Peyton Martines was found severely dehydrated July 31, 2016. She was running a fever and had high salt levels in her blood. She died three days later at a Spartanburg hospital.

Barnette said Martines initially said the girl and her twin sister got into a bag of salt she had left out. Martines later said she gave the girl salt in an attempt to get her estranged husband to come home.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.