A Colorado mother who strangled her 2-month-old son while suffering from postpartum psychosis was sentenced this week to 40 years in prison.
Anna Louise Englund, 30, reached a deal with Boulder County prosecutors to plead guilty to second degree murder, according to the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, and her original charges of first degree murder and first degree murder of a victim under 12 by a person in a position of trust were dropped as a result. The original charges would have carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Englund Strangled the Baby and Drover Around with the Child’s Body for Hours Before Going to a Hospital
In June 2023, Witnesses asked police to perform a welfare check after Englund snuck of the house with her newborn, Miles Basellio, driving away in a car. She was found hours later in the parking lot of a hospital. The child was rushed inside but was pronounced dead about 20 minutes later.
Prosecutors said she strangled the baby shortly after leaving the house and then drove around for hours before going to the same hospital where she had sought treatment for postpartum difficulties on at least two occasions, the baby’s father said.
Englund’s Attorney Claims She was ‘Failed’ by State’s Mental Health Care System
Englund’s attorney, Laren Bennett, told the court during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing that the state’s mental health care system “failed both Ms. Englund and her infant son,” according to the Daily Camera.
Englund “loved her son and family” and “experiences a great sense of regret and remorse for what happened,” Bennett said. Englund told the court that she had “bizarre auditory and visual hallucinations” after the baby’s birth. “I didn’t sleep,” she said, “then I started to have violent visual hallucinations.”
Englund said her husband “kept our son safe” in the beginning. “He was very cautious about not leaving [Miles] with me,” she said. “I convinced him and myself that I was OK but I was still in psychosis. I’m so sorry I took fatherhood away from him and left a hole in his life.” It’s not clear if Englund will receive mental health care while she serves her state prison sentence.
