22-year-old mother pressed her 2-year-old daughter against a couch and held her down until she stopped fighting, killing her, just so she could have more free time for herself; sentenced
Michigan – In a deeply disturbing case in Michigan that drew nationwide attention, a 22-year-old mother, identified as P. Bohne, has been sentenced to decades in prison after admitting she suffocated her 2-year-old daughter simply because she wanted free time for herself but the child would not take a nap. The young mother was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years and a maximum of 45 years in prison for first-degree child abuse, along with an additional sentence of 4 to 10 years for assault with intent to do bodily harm. The sentences will run concurrently, and Bohne received credit for 406 days already served behind bars.
The charges stem from Bohne’s own admissions and the findings of investigators and medical examiners, who concluded that her toddler died of suffocation after being forcibly restrained. Prosecutors said Bohne knowingly created a deadly situation, prioritizing her own desire for free time over her child’s life. The case traces back to November 7, 2024, when Bohne called 911 from her home. She reported that she had found her daughter unresponsive. First responders rushed to the scene, but it was already too late. The 2-year-old girl was pronounced dead, and an autopsy later ruled her cause of death as suffocation.
As the investigation unfolded, the truth behind the child’s death emerged in disturbing detail. According to court records and statements read aloud during sentencing, Bohne admitted that her daughter died “because she wouldn’t take a nap.” Investigators learned that earlier that day, the toddler had not been given breakfast. Instead, Bohne gave her a handful of melatonin gummies, a dose prosecutors said was nearly three times what an adult would take at peak concentration.
Prosecutor D. Davis described Bohne’s actions as deliberate and reckless. She told the court that Bohne pushed her daughter’s face into a couch and “held her down until she stopped fighting.” Davis went further, explaining that a blanket was likely placed over the girl while she was being restrained, causing the child to be smothered. Prosecutors argued Bohne’s motive was chillingly simple. She wanted her daughter to sleep so she could have more free time and focus on herself—texting her boyfriend, scrolling through TikTok, and making food—without interruption.
Bohne entered a no-contest plea in July as part of a deal with prosecutors. In exchange for her plea to first-degree child abuse and assault, charges of murder and conspiracy to commit child abuse were dismissed. On Thursday, Judge P. Stutesman imposed the sentence recommended by prosecutors, calling the case one of the most disturbing he had reviewed. Before sentencing, family members were given the opportunity to speak. Bohne’s aunt delivered a powerful impact statement, describing how the toddler was denied freedom and how the family had been torn apart by the loss. “Because of what you did, children were torn from their homes, forced to live with the pain and confusion of losing everything they knew,” she said. “We live with grief, anger and trauma that doesn’t go away. We don’t get parole from this pain.”
Judge Stutesman echoed the prosecution’s assessment of Bohne’s actions, stating plainly that she held her child down “because she wanted to do other things.” “She started crying, and then she did it until the child stopped moving and stopped making noise and then left her,” he said. Bohne did not speak during sentencing. The 2-year-old girl is remembered by loved ones as a bright and joyful child. Her obituary described her as “a happy yet mischievous little girl,” full of life, always smiling, and fond of pink clothes, cartoons, music, and dancing. She loved cheese puffs, butterflies, and cuddling with her family—especially her grandfather. Bohne will spend much of her life in prison, while a family and a community are left to live with the permanent absence of a child who had no one to protect her when it mattered most.
