ELLSWORTH — An Ellsworth County district court judge sentenced an Ellsworth woman to 32 months in prison Tuesday for the death of her 13-month-old daughter. Michele Suppes, 26, was also ordered to serve 24 months of post-release supervision.
Ellsworth County Judge Ron Svaty rejected a motion by defense attorney Robert Anderson for a sentence of probation.
Suppes pleaded guilty April 3 to one count of involuntary manslaughter in an agreement with prosecutor Amy Hanley, an assistant attorney general. Suppes was charged with felony first-degree murder and aggravated endangerment of a child in March of 2013 in the daughter’s death.
Baileigh Kay Suppes died June 26, 2010.
In the plea agreement, Suppes admitted the charge could likely be proven in court, but she did not admit to the act. Suppes maintained her innocence while avoiding more prison time on the more serious charge.
The cause of the infant’s death was determined to be morphine intoxication. The defense argued in a preliminary hearing under Magistrate Judge Don Alvord that the infant accidently swallowed a 30-milligram prescription morphine pill that had fallen to the floor.
Suppes said some pills had dropped to the floor, but Suppes and her mother had cleaned the floor before allowing the infant to crawl on the floor. Suppes maintained the infant’s death was accidental.
“I know I did not put the morphine in my baby’s bottle,” she said in court. “I would never do anything to harm my children.”
Michele Suppes was charged in March of 2013 after local authorities turned the investigation over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Upon completion of the investigation, a report was submitted by the KBI to Ellsworth County Attorney Joe Shepack, who sent the case to the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.  She was arrested in March of 2013 by Ellsworth County deputies.