A Searcy woman has pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a minor after an infant in her care died and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.07.
Dianna O'Bryan, 57, entered the negotiated plea Wednesday in White County Circuit Court in Searcy to a charge of endangering the welfare of a minor in the first degree. She had been charged with manslaughter, a more severe offense.
Judge Robert Edwards sentenced O'Bryan to six years in prison, her attorney, Justin Mercer, said Thursday. Mercer said O'Bryan made no statement during her plea hearing.
Police found the infant, Elbert Lee Barazza, dead June 25 at the apartment O'Bryan shared with her husband, Jeffrey L. High, 55.
High remains charged with manslaughter, and no plea deals are in the works for him, his attorney, Paul Petty, said Thursday.
Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Reed McCoy was out of town and unavailable for comment by phone Wednesday and Thursday, her office said. A deputy prosecutor familiar with the case was also unavailable.
A preliminary autopsy found the infant died from "compressional asphyxia," or weight placed on his chest, and ethanol administration. Ethanol is used in the production of alcoholic beverages.
Elbert's 0.07 percent blood-alcohol level compares with the 0.08 intoxication limit for drivers in Arkansas.
According to affidavits previously filed in court, High told police that O'Bryan may have given the infant vodka in his milk -- an allegation she later admitted.
O'Bryan also told police that she had taken an antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication and then drank vodka June 24, the day she said she gave the baby vodka.
A police officer who arrived at the couple's apartment June 25 saw the infant lying on a couch beneath O'Bryan, the affidavit said. It also said O'Bryan was acting "extremely intoxicated" when she tried to stand up.
Authorities said the couple had been taking care of the baby since picking him up days earlier from his mother in Odessa, Texas. O'Bryan is the aunt of Elbert's mother.
High's trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 10, Mercer said.
O'Bryan's plea deal does not require her to testify at her husband's trial.
State Desk on 12/09/2016