Mother sentenced to prison for toddler son’s exposure death

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — A woman has been sentenced to five years in prison for the 2019 exposure death of her 21-month-old son, whom the mother left behind to get help after the family’s vehicle got stuck. in rural northwestern New Mexico.

The Farmington Daily Times reports that Tonya Dale Male was sentenced Monday in federal court in Albuquerque after previously pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Kyron Kelewood.

Dale said in a letter to District Judge Kea Riggs that Dale’s son would still be alive but for wrong decisions she made.

His body was found June 28, 2019 after a search by multiple agencies and volunteers.