US mom gets 26 years for microwaving infant daughter to death

A 34-year-old mother has been sentenced to 26-years-to-life in prison in the US for microwaving her one-month-old daughter to death.

Ka Yang was sentenced on Friday by a judge in California who imposed the 26-years-to-life sentence on the woman. Yang put her infant Mirabelle Thao-Lo in the microwave for nearly five minutes back in March 2011 and was convicted of both first-degree murder and assault, according to KCRA-TV.

Yang, a resident of Sacramento, had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Mirabelle suffered burns to 80% of her body some deep enough to damage her internal organs. She was discovered burned from head-to-toe, but her hair and clothes were not singed.

"It was probably the worst case I've ever seen," Sacramento County coroner's office told the Sacramento Bee. The baby girl's pacifier was discovered in the microwave. An affidavit states that Yang told police she blacked out while holding the infant and the baby fell next to a space heater, according to an affidavit.

Her attorney claims she had an epileptic seizure during the 11 minutes she spent alone with the baby. Yang does have a history of seizures, but was not determined to be disorientated by paramedics, the affidavit said.

"I never thought that with my seizure I will lose my little girl," Yang told KOVR-TV. When confronted about the inconsistencies in her story, Yang said she lied and may have a split personality, the affidavit read. Yang is married and has three other children under the ages of 10 who are being cared for by relatives.