6 days ago
North Texas mom receives no jail time, sentenced to 10 years probation in fentanyl poisoning death of 8-month-old daughter
A 24-year-old Collin County woman convicted in the fentanyl poisoning death of her 8-month-old daughter was sentenced to 10 years of probation Tuesday.
The jury decided the sentence for Mary Alice Locke after deliberating for five hours.
She faced anywhere from probation to 99 years in prison in a case involving fentanyl that's a first of its kind in Collin County. She was convicted of first-degree injury to a child in the death of her baby girl, Elizabeth.
Following her sentence, Locke hugged her attorney and supporters in the courtroom before being allowed to go free.
"While nothing can bring baby Elizabeth back, the guilty verdict brings accountability," Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said. "And we'll never let up protecting children from fentanyl."
The 24-year-old admitted in court that she was a drug addict who was smoking opioids with the child's father when Elizabeth was found unresponsive in her crib inside their Allen apartment in 2023.
Despite taking her to a hospital, the baby died, and it was determined to be from fentanyl exposure.
She was the first known baby to die from fentanyl in Collin County, and prosecutors pursued criminal charges against Locke and the baby's father.
Locke testified that she felt responsible for her daughter's death but was in the throes of addiction at the time. She said she is currently clean and sober.
The father in the case still awaits trial and left the courtroom without comment.
His father, the victim's grandfather, shared his reaction to the sentence that includes no prison time for Locke.
"There's no winners in this. I know quite a bit about the case. Nothing will bring her back. I'm not going to trash-talk. I accept the verdict, wish it had been more," Bianco Whitener told CBS News Texas.
