ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A judge sentenced a woman who pleaded no contest to the child abuse death of her five-month-old daughter last year.

Judge Stan Whitaker sentenced Christina Bennett to 10 years in prison Tuesday.

In August, Bennett agreed to plead no contest to charges related to her infant daughter’s death. Prosecutors filed the charges in July 2023, claiming Bennett exposing her daughter to meth led to her death three months before.

Police also said an autopsy found meth detected in her daughter’s blood.

During Bennett’s sentencing Tuesday, prosecutors read a letter from her surviving daughter. The surviving daughter was 12 years old when everything happened.

“The decisions Christina made have affected my life in a negative way. I am in counseling, I don’t sleep well, and I’m very angry and depressed. A mother is supposed to protect her kids. Christina did not, and my life my never be the same. My dad passed way in December and I’m being raised by my grandparents,” the letter read.

The court took a 10-minute recess after that letter. Afterward, Bennett apologized and read a statement, saying she went through abuse and a traumatic brain injury due to a shooting.

The incident raised questions about CYFD and APD’s response. CYFD said they were unaware of an outstanding felony warrant for child abuse charges she had at the time of her infant daughter’s death. Police say she allegedly shoplifted at a Circle K in northeast Albuquerque and drove away with the baby on her lap.

Judge Stan Whitaker said he wasn’t going to blame CYFD for what happened, leading to the 10-year sentence. Once Bennett is out, she will serve five years of supervised probation.