ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Six months after being given a 35-year sentence for killing her stepdaughter, a Tennessee prisoner is scheduled to receive an early parole hearing that could nearly halve her prison sentence.
A hearing for 58-year-old Mary Vaughn has been scheduled for June 15. Vaughn and her husband, 42-year-old Randall Vaughn, both pleaded guilty last December to the murder of five-year-old Alexa Linboom. Prosecutors said the couple forced Mary Vaughn's stepdaughter to drink too much grape soda as a punishment, killing her in January 2012.
An autopsy report revealed Linboom drank about 2.4 liters of liquid over a one-to-two hour span.
The upcoming parole hearing in Nashville will determine if Vaughn will receive parole on her 15-year sentence. If granted, she could begin serving her 20-year sentence immediately.
(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
