Woman convicted of her newborn son's 1981 death released after serving less than three months in prison
A woman convicted last year in the 1981 death of her newborn son has been released on parole after serving less than three months in prison, according to the South Dakota Department of Corrections.
Theresa Bentaas, 60, was granted parole March 17, but was not immediately released. In a notice Monday, corrections officials said Bentaas was freed.
The case of the infant's death remained unsolved until 2019 when advances in DNA technology led investigators to Bentaas. She entered an Alford plea to a first-degree manslaughter charge last October. The plea means she maintained her innocence but admitted that evidence could persuade a judge or jury of her guilt.
South Dakota Circuit Judge Bradley Zell sentenced Bentaas, in December to 10 years in prison, but suspended nine years of her sentence and said she should serve only two months. She had been held in jail for 73 days before trial.
Zell said during sentencing that it was unclear whether the infant died from complications during birth or abandonment during a South Dakota winter. The baby's body was found in a ditch and an autopsy found that the boy likely died from exposure and failure to assist in maintaining an airway during his birth.
Bentaas gave birth to the baby when she was 19, but defense attorneys told the court that Bentaas didn't know she was pregnant until the baby was born and discovered he wasn't breathing. Bentaas then wrapped the baby in blankets and put it in a ditch in Sioux Falls before a passerby noticed it.
