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Florida Woman Sentenced to 12 Years in Son's Death

A Florida Panhandle mother has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for felony child neglect.

Stephanie Ann Howell's 3-year-old son Karson drowned in a backyard swimming pool on Sept. 3, 2014, at their DeFuniak Springs home.

Circuit Judge Kelvin Wells called the child's death a "terrible tragedy." The Northwest Florida Daily News reports the judge noted Howell had a history of putting her children in harm's way.

In May 2014, the child was found wandering along a highway. And the boy almost drowned three months later. Court records show Howell put the child, who couldn't swim, on a float in a pool because he was "pitching a fit." The child slipped off the float and almost drowned that day.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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