Solano Co. Woman Gets Max Sentence In Infant Son's Death

SOLANO COUNTY, CA — A Vallejo woman whose unattended infant son drowned in a bathtub was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for child endangerment causing death. Erin Elizabeth Hallock, 42, was convicted Oct. 12 and sentenced by Solano County Superior Court Judge Robert Bowers on Nov. 14, the Solano County District Attorney's Office said.

Hallock left the 7-month-old baby in an adult-size bathtub on March 10, 2015. The child was alone with water running for at least eight minutes, the District Attorney's Office said.

Vallejo police and firefighters responded and found 11 inches of water in the tub and a 40-pound, waterlogged cloth child's bathing seat under the water, the District Attorney's Office said.

The infant was in critical condition at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center and transferred to Kaiser's Roseville pediatric intensive care unit where he was taken off life support on March 14, 2015.

Police officers also found methamphetamine and evidence of identity theft in Hallock's home, the District Attorney's Office said.

Solano County Deputy District Attorney Daniel Madow argued for, and Solano County Superior Court Judge Robert Bowers imposed, the maximum sentence authorized by law: six years and eight months in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the District Attorney's Office said.

"The Court, in imposing the maximum sentence, emphasized the enormity of having a child, and all the critical responsibilities that come along with parenthood," the DA's office said in a statement. "Deputy District Attorney Madow also alluded to the defendant’s conduct regarding her son’s tragic death and her behavior while he was still fighting for his life."

By Bay City News Service; Patch editor Maggie Avants contributed to this report.

Photo via Solano County District Attorney's Office Facebook page