A woman facing a charge of negligent homicide in connection with the 2012 drowning death of her 13 month-old son pleaded guilty this week in Cullman Circuit Court to the lesser charge of aggravated child abuse.

Justina Marie Freeman, who was 17 years old at the time of the child’s death, was indicted in 2013 on charges of manslaughter, aggravated child abuse, and criminally negligent homicide. Former Chief Deputy Max Bartlett told The Times in 2013 that the conditions of the scene where the death occurred indicated that the child had been severely neglected.

B.J. Bryant, the boy’s father who was 21 at the time, pleaded guilty in 2015 to aggravated child abuse in a deal in which he agreed to testify against Freeman. Bryant was given a one-year sentence and five years supervised probation as part of his 2015 plea agreement.

On Friday, Circuit Judge Martha Williams ordered a suspended split 10-year sentence for Freeman that includes time already served in jail. Freeman must serve 18 months in the Cullman County Detention Center, and will remain on unsupervised probation for an additional five years. She also must pay all court costs associated with her prosecution.

A separate pending case in which Tyler Stephen Hudson of Baileyton faces a murder charge has been delayed until the Oct. 9 court docket. Hudson faces charges in connection with the 2018 death of Daniel Ray Osborne II of Hartselle, whose body was discovered by law enforcement buried on property near Fairview. Andrew Jacob Maresh of Hartselle also faces a count of murder in connection with Osborne’s death.

The resident at the Fairview property, Susan Winton Smith of Fairview, was also indicted in 2018 for murder and hindering prosecution.