Press Release

Anchorage Woman Sentenced for Causing Child's Death

February 2, 2017

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) Today, Superior Court Judge Jack Smith sentenced 23 year old Elizabeth Morin to spend three months in jail for causing her three year old son’s death in August 2015. Morin pled guilty in August 2016 to criminally negligent homicide.

On August 5, 2015, the Anchorage Police Department responded to Morin’s 911 call reporting that her son had been hurt. The investigation revealed that Morin had left an unsecured, loaded .38 caliber revolver in the area where her three year old son lived and played for several days at their South Anchorage residence. Morin was charged in January 2016 after the completion of the investigation by the Anchorage Police Department, the State Medical Examiner’s Office and the State Crime Detection Laboratory.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Smith heard from a woman who served as a mentor to Morin through the Anchorage chapter of Young Lives. Morin faced a sentence of zero to four years in prison for the offense. Judge Smith found that Morin had taken “very positive” steps in her rehabilitation but placed her on supervised felony probation for two years to continue her rehabilitation. Judge Smith sentenced Morin to 18 months but suspended 15 months. He explained that the sentence was designed to make parents take responsibility for anything that is in their home or cabin that could harm a young child. Judge Smith found that leaving a loaded firearm out for several days is criminally negligent.

CONTACT: District Attorney Clint Campion at (907) 269-6300 or clint. campion@alaska.gov. More information about the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office is available at http://www.law.alaska.gov/department/criminal/adao.html.

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.