NAMPA, Idaho — The woman charged in the death of her infant son is pleading guilty to several charges, including felony injury to a child, as part of a plea agreement.
Allysen Armenta appeared in Canyon County court Thursday morning, where she pleaded guilty to one count of felony injury to a child and entered Alford pleas to two counts of destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence.
An Alford plea allows a defendant to plead guilty without expressly admitting factual guilt, while acknowledging that prosecutors have enough evidence to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
PREVIOUS REPORTING | Nampa mother accused in infant's death intends to plead guilty; details of agreement unknown
The charges stem from what happened after Armenta and the baby's father, Brian Lemke, discovered their son had died.
Prosecutors told the court the couple moved Benjamin's body from the original scene and created a different scene for investigators.
“They destroyed the original crime scene by removing him from the crime scene at the trailer, and they made a new crime scene by placing him in a bassinet in that residence where none of this happened.”The state also argued Benjamin had been living in an uninhabitable situation. Prosecutors said Armenta was staying in the trailer because she had an outstanding warrant.
WATCH: MORE DETAILS FROM COURT THURSDAY
For the first time in court Thursday, prosecutors confirmed that Benjamin died while in bed with his parents.
The state said the coroner would have testified that the baby died sometime between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.
Prosecutors said Benjamin's cause of death was suffocation, but the manner of death was ruled accidental, not a homicide.
A fourth charge, misdemeanor obstruction or delaying a police officer, was dismissed as part of Armenta's plea agreement.
Armenta and Lemke were arrested last December after their newborn son was found dead.
As previously reported, court records showed Child Protective Services investigators were trying to locate the family at the time to conduct a welfare check because of concerns about the baby's welfare.
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Lemke previously pleaded guilty in the case. He was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, with six years fixed.
Armenta's guilty plea comes weeks after Benji's Law took effect in Idaho on July 1.
The law was named in honor of children who have died from abuse and neglect and aims to strengthen protections for children and increase accountability when a child is at high risk of abuse or neglect.
Armenta is scheduled to be sentenced November 3.
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