Woman sentenced in murder

Two years after the death of her infant child, Amanda Triplett was sentenced for her role in the child’s death.

Triplett, who appeared in court Monday, was sentenced to 30-50 years in prison. She initially pleaded no contest to a charge of second-degree murder, one charge of aggravated child abuse and two charges of child abuse at a hearing last year. Sentencing was delayed until after her husband, Jacob, pleaded no contest to six felony charges, including second-degree murder, in May. Jacob was sentenced in late October, receiving between 128 and 166 years in prison. The pleas were made after a an agreement to change the initial first-degree murder charges to second-degree murder was reached.

With Amanda’s sentencing, a saga involving the death of an infant as a result of physical abuse and malnourishment, as well as the mistreatment of her siblings, comes to a close. The Tripletts were originally charged in 2014 after their infant, Susan, died at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.

The Rock Springs Police Department was originally called to a report of an unresponsive child at the Triplett home, which resulted in Susan being transferred to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County and eventually, Primary Children’s Hospital.

After Susan’s death, an examination of the girl revealed several injuries consistent to physical mistreatment and malnourishment.

An investigation of the Triplett household revealed poor living conditions for the Tripletts’ four children. In an interview with Amanda, she revealed she did not give her twin infants the required amount of formula, resulting in a watered-down and less nourishing mixture given to the children. She also said she propped the bottles into the infants’ mouths, using blankets to hold the bottles in place as Amanda cared for the other two children.