SOMERSET ― Chauntel Gindlesperger, of Stoystown, was sentenced Friday to 13 to 26 years in state prison for her participation in the death of her infant in 2020.
She was credited for 1,474 days (a little over four years) for “time served,” by Somerset County President Judge Scott Bittner for charges including a third-degree murder offense.
Third-degree murder in Pennsylvania is when a person kills another that was not intentional and does not rise to the level of first- and second-degree murder.
Gindlesperger, 33, admitted to administering excessive medication in what essentially was a cocktail of over-the-counter drugs to her 3-month-old on what was Gindlesperger’s 29th birthday on Oct. 30, 2020, when she pleaded guilty this past November and waived her right to a trial. She also pleaded guilty to the charges of endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated assault, both felonies.
“This sentence is in line with what we expected, based upon the plea,” said her defense attorney, Benjamin Carroll of Somerset.
At her sentencing, Carroll said, “Although she is competent to have entered a guilty plea, and although her mental health status did not rise to the level of a defense in this case, it is still important to understand that there was a significant mental health component to what happened in this case. Both in my time representing her, and at sentencing, Ms. Gindlesperger expressed her remorse for what happened, and said that she suffers every day, thinking about it.”
The case
The infant was taken to Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center in Windber and died before police arrived. The medical staff confirmed the child did not display any visible signs of trauma, police said.
The coroner’s office produced toxicology results from the child’s autopsy as well as the child’s official death certificate. The report states the child’s blood contained “a lethal level of diphenhydramine (the generic name for Benadryl),” an antihistamine.
Why: Is she competent? Defense counsel for Gindlesperger questions her mental state, seeks eval
At the time, “Gindlesperger denied hurting her child,” Trooper Patrick Hauser wrote in a probable-cause affidavit. She admitted, however, giving the child large amounts of adult Benadryl medicine, as well as ZzzQuill, CBD spray and ibuprofen, he wrote.
A dosing guide on Benadryl’s website recommends that children under age 6 not use the adult version of the drug. There is also a children’s version of the drug, but the website recommends it not be given to children under age 2.
The child’s death certificate lists “homicide” as the manner of death caused by “cardio-respiratory arrest” and “acute diphenhydramine toxicity,” according to court documents.
Gindlesperger was arrested and charged on Dec. 22, 2020, and placed in the Somerset County Jail, where she has been incarcerated awaiting her sentencing. Homicide is a nonbondable charge in Pennsylvania.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Stoystown woman sentenced for murder in infant’s death