Mar 7, 2024 By Jon Andreassi 2 min read

A Coal Center mother will spend as long as 67 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that she killed her 3-month-old son in 2020.

According to online court records, Symantha Sullivan, 28, entered guilty pleas to felonies of criminal homicide, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children on Feb. 22.

Washington County Judge John DiSalle imposed three consecutive sentences on Sullivan, and she will serve 33.5 to 67 years in prison.

The district attorney’s office initially was pursuing the death penalty in the case.

“This was a negotiation between the defense attorney and the district attorney’s office. There were mitigating circumstances,” said District Attorney Jason Walsh. “We thought it was a just result and a very significant sentence.

Walsh declined to expand on the circumstances that led to the guilty plea.

Public defender Rose Semple declined to comment on the case.

Sullivan was charged after her infant son, Isaiah Sullivan, was flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital on Sept. 11, 2020, when he stopped breathing. Police were called to America’s Best Value Inn and Suites Motel in Canton Township, where Sullivan was staying, that afternoon.

Investigators found that Isaiah had suffered a skull and facial fractures, brain injuries, 10 rib fractures, an eye injury, internal abdominal bleeding, and arm and finger fractures. He died Oct. 26, 2020.

Sullivan told police that a few days prior, she dropped Isaiah in the bathtub, but he did not have any visible injuries. The night of Sept. 10, Sullivan confessed that she punched Isaiah in the back of the head when he would not fall asleep, according to court documents.

Police filed additional charges the following January that accused Sullivan of poisoning her son by putting ethanol in his formula.