Mother Who Abandoned Mute Daughter Is Sentenced

An Orange County woman convicted of abandoning her 11-year-old mute daughter in a La Jolla department store was sentenced Tuesday to five years’ probation, ordered to undergo counseling and pay $500 in fines.

She can visit her daughter, now living with a foster family in San Diego County, only with the consent of the foster parents and the county social worker assigned to the case, said her attorney, Robert J. Stall Jr.

Karen Amy May, 37, of Anaheim, pleaded guilty in December to child abandonment, Stall said. A child-endangerment charge was dismissed under the plea bargain, which specified that prosecutors not seek a state-prison term.

May faced a maximum fine of $10,000 and three years’ incarceration for the charge but, under the plea bargain, faced a maximum fine of $1,000 and 12 months in jail. Deputy Dist. Atty. Harry Elias said that May would be exposed to the stiffer penalties if she violates probation.

‘Absolutely Remorseful’

“Obviously, we’re pleased with the results,” Stall said after Tuesday’s hearing. Stall said May was “absolutely remorseful” about leaving her daughter in a May Co. store in La Jolla Village Square shopping center in September.

“She’s learned her lesson . . . she loves the child very much,” Stall said. May spent 53 days in jail until friends raised $5,000 bail in December.

“She recognizes this was a terrible error in judgment. I think she’s pleased the child is doing well. Ironically, what she’s done has worked out for the best,” Stall said, adding that mother and daughter may be reunited later.

May’s daughter, Tanya Tegerdine, 11, has no physical cause for her muteness. Stall told the court Tegerdine was developmentally disabled. Police have described May as “at wit’s end” with the stress of caring for Tanya and a 7-year-old son, Floyd, when she abandoned the girl.

Stall told the court May was at the time fleeing her estranged husband, who was reportedly an alcoholic

and had physically abused his wife. May found it difficult to hold down a job as a single parent and eventually contacted federal authorities about giving Tanya up for adoption.

Stall said May was told she would have to offer her husband “first right of refusal.” Not wanting him to be awarded custody, May concocted a scheme to disguise Tanya so no one would be able to recognize her, then abandon her in hopes that someone would adopt her, he said.

“This case is a tragedy of classic proportions. There was no malicious intent here,” Stall told the court. “(Only) an error of judgment” that occurred under stress, he said.

Working as Secretary

May was arrested at the home of her sister-in-law in Torrance in October after her sister-in-law tipped San Diego police. She has most recently been living with friends in Orange County and working as a secretary.

Tanya has gained 37 pounds since the ordeal, is in good health and is learning sign language, Stall said. She has not seen her mother since September. May’s husband, Haskell May, lives in Camp Verde, a small town outside of Tucson, Ariz., and has temporary custody of Floyd during divorce proceedings.

Elias had asked San Diego Municipal Judge Jesus Rodriguez to require May to do some volunteer work, but said afterward that he was satisfied with the sentencing.

“I think these kinds of cases are of great concern . . . we don’t see them very often,” Elias said. “There’s no question (May) was under a lot of stress, but . . . there were other alternatives that could have been sought.”

Rodriguez ordered a review of May’s case after six months.