Blackstone Mother, Convicted Of Assault On 2 Of Her Kids, Is Sentenced To Prison

A mother who lived with her children in a squalid home in Blackstone, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to six to eight years in state prison for assault and animal cruelty convictions.

Erika Murray was found guilty about a month ago of assault and battery causing serious injury to two of her children, but was found not guilty of second-degree murder and other charges in the case.

Murray was arrested in 2014 after police found the remains of three infants inside her home, where four living children also resided. Authorities said two of the young girls had been severely neglected.

Murray, whose lawyer says she suffers from mental illness, will receive credit for the nearly five years she has already served.

In clearing her of the most serious charge she faced, the judge said prosecutors did not prove Murray had caused the death of one of the babies whom she had been charged with killing.

Murray was initially charged in two of the babies' deaths, but the judge dropped one of the murder counts because he said prosecutors couldn't prove one of those babies was born alive.

With reporting from WBUR's Newscast Unit and The Associated Press