BLOUNT COUNTY WOMAN SENTENCED FOR CHILD NEGLECT
A judge in Blount County this morning sentenced 34-year-old Bethanie Carriker to 25 years in prison for two counts of aggravated child neglect. She must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence. The charges stem from a drowning incident back in May that left her 15-month-old daughter dead and her 26-day-old infant daughter injured at a home in Seymour. The infant was released from the hospital a week later. Carriker had placed both children in a bathtub filled with about six inches of water and then left them there for a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes. Carriker and her husband had a domestic argument on the morning of the incident and law enforcement was called. The children were found unresponsive later that day.