Mother Smothered 1-Month-Old Baby To Death So She Can Have A Spa Day At Hotel

A North Dakota mother has been sentenced to life in prison on Friday, Feb. 25, after she reportedly smothered her 1-month-old baby to death so that she could have a spa day at a hotel.

Hannah Sage McMillin, 21, has been slapped with a life sentence without the possibility of parole for suffocating her infant son to death with a pillow in 2019, Law & Crime reported.

In April 2019, officers of the Williston Police Department received a 911 call notifying them about a baby that was found not breathing at the Four Points by Sheraton located on 2nd Avenue West. After the authorities responded to the scene, the infant was found unresponsive inside a room that was being rented by McMillin and her husband, Tank McMillin.

The baby was reportedly found underneath a pile of pillows and one of the pillows located near the boy’s body had “what appeared to be the imprint of a small human face” on it.

Even though paramedics reportedly tried to resuscitate the child and transported him to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead upon arrival at the facility. The small child had severe bruises all over his body, including his stomach, back, sides, upper buttocks, and feet.

After smothering the child to death in her hotel room, McMillin allegedly went to enjoy the pool/spa facilities in the hotel, the Williston Herald reported.

Following the gruesome discovery, McMillin and her husband were both taken into custody and initially charged with one count each of Class A felony child abuse.

When the police subsequently interrogated McMillin, she confessed to killing the child. She told the officers that she attempted to quiet him by squeezing him when the child would not stop crying. When that did not work, she said that she placed several pillows over and around the baby’s face and left them there for the newborn to stop crying.

The North Dakota Medical Examiner’s autopsy report reportedly determined that the child’s death was a homicide caused by “forcible smothering.”

Following this, the charge against McMillin was upgraded to murder.

McMillin entered an Alford plea last year in connection with the murder. Alford plea means McMillin essentially accepts the result of a guilty plea while also claiming innocence and acknowledging the evidence was sufficient to convict. Since McMillin entered the Alford plea without reaching a deal with prosecutors, McMillin faced a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

In addition to the prison sentence, McMillin was also ordered to remain on parole for the remainder of her life. She was also ordered to be registered as an offender against children.