LAS VEGAS — The mother of two little girls brutally stabbed after being left home alone while she went to a nearby casino was sentenced this past week to a minimum of four years in prison.
Tamara Schmidt sobbed uncontrollably as she tried to tell the judge she was sorry.
"On Jan. 22, 2003, it was the worst mistake of my life, leaving my two girls home alone," Schmidt told District Court Judge Donald Mosley. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my girls and what they went through and that because I left them home alone this happened."
Three-year-old Kristyanna Cowan was killed, and her half-sister, 10-year-old Brittney Bergeron, was left paralyzed in the attack. A brother and sister from Utah have been charged in the case.
Schmidt and her husband pleaded guilty in July to one count each of felony child abuse and neglect resulting in substantial bodily harm. The couple, who married after the 2003 attack, had faced multiple charges. Each could have been sent to prison for up to 80 years if convicted at trial.
Robert Schmidt also was sentenced this past week to a minimum of two years in prison.
He told the judge he was haunted by what happened that night and said he loved the girls even though he was not their biological father.
"If I would have known that (Kristyanna) was going to die and Brittney was going to be paralyzed, I would have stayed in that trailer," he said, crying. "I just wish it was me and not them."
Under Mosley's sentence, Tamara Schmidt could serve up to 12 years in prison. She will be eligible for parole after four years. Robert Schmidt could serve up to 10 years and will be eligible for parole after two.
Both were handcuffed and taken into custody.
Outside court, Chief Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich said she was pleased with the judge's decision and that Brittney can now decide whether she wants a relationship with her mother.
"This is a child who basically from birth has had no mother," Luzaich said. "I hope Brittney is not able to see her mother for four years. Her mother was never there for her."
Friends and neighbors who testified before the grand jury said the Schmidts often left the girls behind when they went to buy methamphetamine or to gamble at the nearby casino. Brittney missed three weeks of school in less than three months while caring for Kristyanna.
A jury in June was unable to decide whether Beau Maestas, 22, should receive the death sentenceafter he pleaded guilty to the 2003 attack. Another penalty hearing has been scheduled for April.
Maestas' 19-year-old sister, Monique, has pleaded not guilty. Her trial also is scheduled for April, and she faces life in prison if convicted.
Beau Maestas, the son of a convicted killer, told police he was angry with the Schmidts after they ripped him off in a drug deal. The couple has denied any involvement in drug sales.
Maestas, who used methamphetamine in the hours before the attack, told police he acted alone. But authorities say the sister also was involved. Both are originally from the Salt Lake area.
Brittney Bergeron, now 13, has been in foster care since the attack and has said she wants to be adopted.
But a Family Court judge in June ruled the state has not made enough of an effort to reunite Brittney with her mother. The state is fighting such efforts.