San Marcos
A San Marcos woman pleaded guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of her baby step-granddaughter.
Donna Marie Kirk, 38, admitted guilt in a plea bargain in which she also pleaded guilty to child endangerment.
She could be ordered to serve up to six years in state prison when she is sentenced by Superior Court Judge Thomas Whelan on July 31.
Kirk, who lived in the 900 block of Lower Lane in a rural section of San Marcos, was indicted by the county grand jury in December after an investigation into the death of 13-month-old Erica Lynn Bihr.
On Sept. 27, paramedics responded to a 911 call from Kirk’s residence reporting a child having difficulty breathing. When authorities arrived, Kirk said the girl had fallen from her playpen onto a carpeted floor.
The girl died three days later. An investigation showed there were bruises on the child’s body and that the cause of death was due to bleeding in the head.
The girl’s father, Daniel Bihr of San Diego, had left for duty in the Persian Gulf only hours before Kirk summoned paramedics.
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