Sanford mother who faked suffocation of infant is jailed
SANFORD — A 19-year-old Sanford woman was ordered to jail for two months on Wednesday for pretending to smother her infant, then sending a video of that to the child’s father.
“Good luck finding your son’s body,” she wrote.
The baby was unharmed, although police say he struggled and cried.
The mother, Samantha Nicole Salinas, pleaded no contest last month to child abuse, a third-degree felony that carries a possible sentence of five years in prison.
Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson on Wednesday sentenced her to two months in jail and four years of probation and ordered her to undergo a psychological evaluation.
Salinas confessed on May 16, shortly before being arrested. She told a Sanford police officer that she would never harm her 7-month-old son, that she only pretended to smother the child because his father was not paying child support and was providing no help.
The incident happened in November or December, according to Salinas’ arrest report, but the 20-year-old father did not report it then. It was discovered in May when someone asked police to check on the child’s well being, and then sent a copy of the four-second video to authorities.
In the video, the child was crying, struggled and appeared to be distressed, wrote Sanford police Officer Austin Robinson.
Salinas’ attorney did not return a phone call on Wednesday.
In May, Circuit Judge Susan Stacy ordered Salinas to have no contact with the child or any other children and placed the baby with the defendant’s mother. rstutzman@orlando sentinel.com or 407-650-6394