Mother sentenced in death of infant son

JOPLIN, Mo. -- The mother of a 10-week-old son found dead on a floor furnace was sentenced Monday to 20 years in prison.

Linda Baldwin, 40, of Joplin, had entered an Alford plea in March to a reduced charge of second-degree murder in the death of her son, Thomas Anthony Spina. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit wrongdoing but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict.

Jasper County officials said Baldwin's baby died March 25, 2002, at a Springfield hospital. He was dehydrated and had third-degree burns on his back, legs and buttocks.

Anthony Spina Jr., the baby's father, said in a preliminary hearing that when he came home, he could hear faint noises but could not see the baby.

Spina then found the baby on a floor furnace grate, hidden under the clothes drying rack. The baby's back side was covered with blisters, he said.

Baldwin, Spina said, was on the floor four to six feet from the baby.