A Plano mother who dropped her infant daughter from a balcony in her home twice has been sentenced to three years in prison on Monday morning.
Padmaja Sivaray Enjeti, 38, faced up to life in prison in the sentencing phase of the trial. She must serve ten years of community service after her release.
She was convicted Thursday of attempted capital murder, aggravated assault and injury to a child.
Jurors began deliberations in the trial on Wednesday afternoon.
Plano police say Enjeti dropped her 22-month-old daughter onto the first floor of her home on Nov. 28, 2007, and did it again while on the phone with a 911 dispatcher. The child did not suffer serious injuries.
Enjeti was initially charged with injury to a child, but those charges were later upgraded to attempted capital murder, authorities said.
Shortly after her arrest, she was released from jail on a reduced bond and placed into a mental institution when her defense attorney, Todd Shapiro, argued that his client has a well-documented history of schizophrenia and needed mental help that she could not get in jail.
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During the trial, attorneys for Enjeti said she only imagined dropping her daughter during a psychotic episode. A psychiatrist who treated Enjeti testified the woman was depressed and psychotic but did not believe she tried to kill her daughter.
Collin County prosecutors contend Enjeti lost her temper and tried to kill her child. Jurors heard a taped interview with police in which she talked of becoming frustrated with the girl's crying.
They also listened to a recording of the 911 call Enjeti made to report harming her daughter.
