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Mum's courtroom confession after son dies in car while she partied

The mum of a boy who died of heatstroke after being left in a car for up to eight hours has made a confession in court while being sentenced over his death.

Ashley Howard’s two-year-old son Caleb died in 2018, two days after the 21-year-old mum left him in the car while she partied and overslept the following day, according to news site KULR.

The mum, from the US state of Montana, reportedly confessed during her sentencing on October 19 that she still struggled to accept the fact that she was the sole reason Caleb was no longer alive.

Photo shows Ashley Howard delivering her statement in the courtroom.
Ashley Howard told the courtroom she still struggled to acknowledge that she caused her son's death. Source: KULR

“I struggle with saying that I killed my son. Because nobody wants to be the reason their son is no longer here. I miss him every day,” she said in a statement to the courtroom, according to the publication.

“I know that I will always love my son and I will always miss him.”

The toddler’s grandmother, Marsha Hopkins, also delivered a statement, condemning Ms Howard’s choices.

“You will have to live with the fact that you alone killed Caleb. Do I think that you meant to? No. Do I think that you could have prevented it, absolutely,” she said, KULR reported.

“You knew what could have happened if you left him in the car, and you made that choice.”

Photo shows Caleb smiling while sitting in a car seat.
Caleb died two days after being left in a car for nearly eight hours in 2018, while his mum partied and slept. Source: Facebook

Ms Howard reportedly pleaded not guilty in September of 2018 but this week was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after being found guilty of negligent homicide in August, KULR reported.

Prosecutors argued she never took responsibility for the death of her son, and instead framed herself as the victim, according to the publication.

Her sentence comes with five years suspended, with parole restricted for the first 10 years.

The judge ordered that she receive mental health treatment during her sentence.

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