RAPID CITY, S.D. – A Rapid City woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to child abuse and abuse or neglect of a disabled adult.
Naomia Prairie, 40, was sentenced this week.
Prairie was charged in the death of her 18-year-old quadriplegic son.
Prosecutors say the boy only weighed around 80 pounds at the time of his death and died due to extreme neglect.
Chief Deputy State’s Attorney Gina Nelson said the doctor who conducted the autopsy compared Merrival’s body to a Holocaust victim.
According to prosecutors, a 7-year-old also in Prairie’s care had never been enrolled in school. The child was malnourished and had been taught to use meth by other adults.
Judge Joshua Hendrickson called the case both shocking and haunting.
