A Tucson woman whose newborn son was buried in a bucket in her backyard was sentenced to three years' probation Thursday.
Regina Lockwood, 24, and Nicholi Grimm were arrested in November 2005 after Tucson police, acting on a tip, found the baby buried six inches under ground in a water-filled bucket placed inside another bucket.
The Pima County medical examiner told authorities the 4-pound baby was almost full-term, but he couldn't tell whether the baby was stillborn or died after birth.
The couple was charged only with conspiracy to abandon or conceal a dead human body because doctors were unable to determine a cause of death.
Lockwood was convicted in February.
On Thursday, Deputy Pima County Attorney Bunkye Chi asked Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo to send Lockwood to prison, saying she acted with the same guilty frame of mind as someone convicted of first-degree murder.
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If Leonardo was inclined to give Lockwood probation, Chi said she should get at least some jail time, too, because people have been sent to jail for far more time for doing far less.
Lockwood's attorney, Natasha Wrae, told the judge Chi is just "bitter" because she couldn't pursue a murder charge against Lockwood.
Lockwood, a recovering methamphetamine addict, turned her life around while waiting for trial, and no purpose would be served by sending her to prison, Wrae said.
Had Leonardo allowed her to argue the fetus was not human, Lockwood might never have been convicted, Wrae said.
During Lockwood's trial, Chi told jurors Lockwood told several friends she didn't want the baby, not only because the father wasn't involved in her life anymore, but because her health would be compromised if she went full-term.
Over the next several months, Lockwood tried to abort the baby using homeopathic methods, Chi said.
According to police records, Lockwood told detectives she didn't have insurance, hates doctors and "hospitals kill people," so she felt she had no choice.
Lockwood also said the fetus, which she called "corpsie," hadn't moved for at least a month before she gave birth.
Chi told jurors even after Lockwood began telling friends that the baby had died, they noticed her abdomen continued to grow. One witness even testified he saw the baby kick months after he supposedly had died.
Court documents indicate Lockwood told a pre-sentence report writer a friend of hers secretly performed a sonogram confirming the baby was dead in the weeks before she gave birth.
Lockwood also told the writer she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. She gets anxious and has flashbacks when she sees newborns, court documents state.
"Sure that he was dead, she mourns on the anniversary of the day she 'gave death to him,' '' the pre-sentence report states.
Lockwood is on various medications now and receives counseling services through La Frontera Behavioral Health Services.
In opting to place Lockwood on probation, Leonardo said he took into consideration Lockwood's remorse, lack of criminal history, family support and performance while on pre-trial release.
Grimm has not yet been tried, as there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
Wrae said an appeal is planned.
