Mom of Emaciated 3-Year-Old Sentenced to 15 years

A 28-year-old southwest Missouri woman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for her role in a child abuse case that left her daughter severely underweight and fighting for her life.

Jasper County Circuit Judge Gayle Crane sentenced Beth Williams of Joplin on Monday to the maximum sentence allowed under a plea agreement she made with prosecutors.

The Joplin Globe reports Cameron Williams was taken to the emergency room of a Joplin hospital on July 1, 2012, unconscious and with a blood sugar level of zero. The 3-year-old girl weighed barely 12 pounds.

A doctor testified last year that two months after being taken from the home, the girl had grown 2 inches and gained 13 pounds.

Williams' roommate, 28-year-0ld Christina Haidle, received the same sentence in February.