(CBS DETROIT) – A Clinton Township woman who pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter after her 5-year-old son was killed found frozen to death in a park has been sentenced to two years’ probation.
The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office alleges that on January 22, 2023, Derricka Fleming put her 5-year-old son to bed and left her apartment. Officials say Fleming’s son left the apartment in the early hours of Jan. 23, 2023, and walked outside, where he was later found in a nearby park.
Her son was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.
Flemish, 26, did not advocate a contest for involuntary manslaughter, a fifteen-year felony, in April 2024.
“While we respect the court’s decision, our office firmly believed that incarceration was warranted in this tragic case. We requested incarceration to underscore the seriousness of the crime and to seek justice for the loss of this young life. However, the court has chosen to impose probation instead,” Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido said in a statement.
