CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - A court in Chattanooga has sentenced a northeast Georgia woman to eight years of probation in the death of her newborn in a college dormitory room.
Melissa Powel was a student at Tennessee Temple University and was 19 years old when she gave birth in February 2007. She is now 23.
Powel, who is from Ellijay, entered a plea bargain to a charge of criminally negligent homicide.
Authorities said Powel didn't seek help for her newborn.
Hamilton County Medical Examiner Dr. Frank King testified Monday during her sentencing hearing that the infant boy might have survived only minutes because he had inhaled amniotic fluid, but said the child appeared to be a healthy near-term baby.
The infant was found wrapped in a blanket in a chair in Powel's dorm room.
