Woman gets to 32-year sentence for granddaughter’s death

MAHANOY CITY, Pa. – A Pennsylvania woman has been sentenced to up to 32 years in prison after being convicted in the suffocation death of her 14-month-old granddaughter.

Pietrina Hoffman still maintains her innocence after being found guilty of third-degree murder in the death of Neveah Doyle.

Prosecutors say Hoffman had taken several medications before she fell off a couch onto the baby, suffocating her.

Neveah was found dead on the floor in Hoffman’s Mahanoy City home in January 2016. An autopsy showed the baby was smothered to death.

Hoffman’s lawyer says she had no reason to kill the child and was distraught about what happened.

The Schuylkill County District Attorney said after the hearing Wednesday that she was disappointed Hoffman did not get the maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison.