Inset: Amy S. Laszkiewicz (Waukesha County Jail). Background: The residence where Laszkiewicz allegedly allowed her daughter to starve to death in Pewaukee, Wisc. (Google Maps).
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael O. Bohren on Thursday ordered Amy S. Laszkiewicz to serve 20 years in a state correctional facility and an additional 15 years of supervised release for her role in the death of 23-year-old Cora Laszkiewicz, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Amy Laszkiewicz reached a deal with prosecutors in January, entering an Alford plea to one count of recklessly subjecting an individual at risk to abuse under circumstances causing death. An Alford plea is functionally equivalent to a guilty plea in that it results in a conviction, but it allows a defendant to maintain their claim of innocence while conceding that the state has sufficient evidence to convict them at trial.
The sentencing hearing
Notably, the sentence Bohren handed down was even longer than the sentence recommended by prosecutors, according to a report from Milwaukee Fox affiliate WITI. During the sentencing hearing, the judge reportedly compared postmortem photos of Cora Laszkiewicz to the victims in a World War II concentration camp.
“She had a responsibility to take action — to save Cora — to do something to keep her alive,” the judge said.
Assistant District Attorney Kristi Gordon echoed the judge’s sentiment, telling the court that Cora’s “severe autism” made the situation even worse.
“Cora was 70 pounds and absolutely emaciated,” Gordon said. “I believe this case was extremely aggravated, because Cora had special needs.”
