A judge pointed to a "perfect storm" of circumstances Monday when he spared prison for a Minneapolis home day-care operator who attempted to hang a toddler in the basement before fleeing in her minivan and leaving a trail of mayhem, seriously injuring two people.
Nataliia Karia, 43, abandoned a possible insanity defense and pleaded guilty in February to attempted murder in connection with the hanging of the boy from a noose in November 2016 inside the home in the 2700 block of Humboldt Avenue S.
The 16-month-old survived after a parent dropping off a child intervened and took the noose from the boy's neck.
Karia also admitted before Hennepin County District Judge Jay Quam to third-degree assault for striking a pedestrian, another driver and a bicyclist as she fled in her minivan. She was snatched from a Minneapolis freeway overpass, ready to jump, and taken into custody.
After a two-hour hearing, Karia received a 10-year probationary sentence, with credit for the 20 months in jail. She also must follow court-ordered mental health treatment and electronic home monitoring for at least two months. She will live with her adult son but cannot have unsupervised contact with her daughters or other minors. Karia's three other children are ages 2, 7 and 10, and child protection proceedings continue over her fitness as a parent.
In deciding against prison time, Quam agreed with the assessment by doctors that Karia was "a low risk" to reoffend. He called her actions "the perfect storm of factors unlikely to ever be repeated." He said Karia's "was one of the hardest cases I've ever had. ... There are no easy answers here."
Defense attorney Brockton Hunter expressed relief on behalf of his client.
"We came in here with our hearts in our throats," he said, adding that Karia will leave jail no later than Tuesday.