NC mom gets 8 months in jail after autistic son dies in fire

ELKIN, NC (Winston-Salem Journal) — A North Carolina woman has been sentenced to eight months in jail after her autistic teenage son died in a house fire.

The Winston-Salem Journal reported Wednesday that Maria Deneane Kidd had entered what is known as an Alford plea to involuntary manslaughter.

Such a plea means that a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors likely have enough evidence for a conviction.

Her son, William Kidd, 13, died in January 2018 in a house in Elkin.

Clark Fischer, Maria Kidd’s attorney, said the involuntary manslaughter charge stemmed from the fact that the house was extremely cluttered, making it a fire hazard.