Ohio mom spared death for microwaving baby

updated 8:14 p.m. ET Sept. 3, 2008

DAYTON, Ohio - An Ohio jury has spared the life of a woman who killed her infant daughter by microwaving her.

The jury told the judge Wednesday that it couldn't agree on whether to recommend the death penalty or life in prison for 28-year-old China Arnold.

Arnold now could spend between 25 years and the rest of her life in prison, depending on what Montgomery County Judge Mary Wiseman decides.

The defense had argued that Arnold was drunk when the crime occurred and that she had no motive. Prosecutors called the crime "heinous."

Arnold was convicted Friday of aggravated murder for killing daughter Paris Talley in 2005.

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