VISTA - The mother of a newborn baby boy found dead in the trash outside her north Vista home was sentenced Wednesday to three years in state prison.

Edith Ledesma, 25, pleaded guilty in July to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of her son, who was found May 15, 2006. A law enforcement search for the child followed a Tri-City Medical Center official's report that a patient said she had given birth over the weekend and abandoned her baby, a sheriff's lieutenant said then.

Ledesma appeared to look down with a tissue in her hands Wednesday morning throughout a sentencing hearing at which attorneys argued to the court about the circumstances surrounding her baby's death.

Family and supporters of Ledesma nearly filled the courtroom.

Deputy District Attorney Per Hellstrom argued that Ledesma was the one person who had a duty to speak up for and protect her baby, but that she "intended for that child to die" when she placed him in a blanket in a plastic bag and left it by the trash bin.

The baby was found in the bin under bags of household trash, but prosecutors were unable to prove who put the baby in the bin, Hellstrom said.

"Can one imagine a more vulnerable victim?" Hellstrom said of the infant. "It's impossible to imagine."

Ledesma's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Matthew Roberts, argued, however, that Ledesma was not a threat to society, but a young woman caught up in "bizarre circumstances."

"Ms. Ledesma does not present a danger to the community or to her other children," Roberts said after referring to a doctor's report he submitted to the court. "It's very clear this is not something that's going to happen again, and she will not be back before the court in her lifetime."

Ledesma had no criminal record, worked for a fast-food restaurant, and was an "excellent mother" for her three children, who lived with her and her common-law husband at the Vista house they shared with Ledesma's parents and sister and others, Roberts said.

However, Ledesma was "completely overwhelmed" about what to do when she suspected she was pregnant, in part because of the vasectomy her husband received and previous unfounded accusations of infidelity he had made about her, Roberts said.

Ledesma also suffered medical complications related to the birth that caused her to lose a lot of blood, go into shock and need life-saving medical care to prevent her death, Roberts said.

Hellstrom said characterizations of Ledesma as too weak after giving birth to tell anyone about the baby were "factually incorrect" and that the overall circumstances of what happened suggest she intended for the baby to die.

Hellstrom said Ledesma placed the baby in a blanket in a plastic bag and placed it next to the garbage bin, which was behind a 6-foot-tall gate and in a location where it would be less likely for her family members to hear, Hellstrom said.

Roberts previously has said the baby's face was not covered. Hellstrom said Ledesma told investigators that she tied the plastic bag loosely.

Hellstrom said Ledesma denied giving birth in statements she made to paramedics at her house and to medical personnel at the hospital. When she finally admitted having a baby, she initially gave the wrong location for where she had left it, Hellstrom said.

Superior Court Judge Timothy Casserly said that there was no "correct sentence" for Ledesma and that the case was frustrating to him because he could not impose a sentence that would satisfy everyone in the community. Saying he was following the rules of court, Casserly decided to send Ledesma to prison, but for a three-year term at the low end of the sentencing options the law provides.

- Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 or smarshall@nctimes.com.

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