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A formal plea of guilty was entered Monday in Kosciusko Circuit Court by a Warsaw woman accused in the death of her newborn daughter.
Beatriz Cuautle, 29, made the plea through an interpreter. Cuautle admitted to voluntary manslaughter, a Class B felony, rather than the more serious charge of murder filed against her.
David Kolbe of Warsaw, one of Cuautle's court-appointed attorneys, said the hearing went smoothly despite concerns with the double translation - the information pertaining to Cuautle's rights had to be translated into Spanish, then Cuautle's plea translated from Spanish to English.
Kolbe said Cuautle had no trouble understanding the questions the court is required to ask her nor with admitting to the court her responsibility for the death of her child.
Cuautle has been held in the Kosciusko County Jail since a day after the Oct. 21 death of her infant daughter. Cuautle gave birth to the baby at her workplace, Kralis Brothers Foods Inc., Mentone, and then placed the infant in a trash can.
An autopsy of Cuautle's newborn daughter revealed the infant died from asphyxiation due to suffocation. Kosciusko County Coroner Larry Ladd ruled the death a homicide.
Cuautle faces a six to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced June 12.
