State v. Riggs

LOWENSTEIN, Judge.

Defendant Karen L. Riggs was convicted by a jury of the felonies of involuntary manslaughter, § 565.024, RSMo 1994, and endangering the welfare of a child, § 568.045, RSMo 1994 (all further statutory references are to the Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1994, unless otherwise indicated). Riggs was sentenced to concurrent terms of five years imprisonment. The convictions resulted from an incident involving Riggs’ two-year-old child Benjamin (Ben) who, while unattended by her for some forty-five minutes, wandered away from his home and drowned in a pond. On appeal, Riggs…