Wegner gets 10 years to life in prison

A 45-year-old woman was sentenced Thursday to 10 years to life in prison for the March 1997 slaying of a 14-month-old baby girl.

Kierra Harrison died two days after being in Alica Wegner's care. The official cause of Kierra's death was massive head trauma, which authorities said was caused by Wegner, who was licensed to provide day care.

Wegner in July entered an Alford plea for second-degree murder, meaning she didn't admit wrongdoing but acknowledged there is enough evidence to convict her.

A jury convicted Wegner of first-degree murder in 1998, and she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. The Nevada Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2000 and granted her a new trial.

On Thursday, Wegner was given credit for having served almost three years, making her eligible for parole in seven years.

In addressing Judge Michelle Leavitt before the sentencing, Wegner didn't take responsibility for what happened to Kierra and instead spoke about how she had suffered.

Standing with her arms and legs shackled and her head down, a tearful Wegner said, "I'm so sorry for the loss of Kierra. And I don't know if anyone here can truly understand how devastating it is to have a child die while in your care. And for 12 years I have been devastated by her loss."

Kierra's father, Seth Harrison, said he was pleased Leavitt imposed the maximum sentence she could.

"Hopefully the parole board will be strict," Harrison said.

He also hoped Thursday's sentencing, which ended a 12-year-long legal saga, might finally allow his family to find some closure.

Harrison said having the first conviction overturned was appalling.

"To hear that the person who murdered your daughter was let free ... She's been walking free for the last eight years," Harrison said. "I have no words for that."

The state's high court overturned Wegner's conviction because the jury was given faulty instructions. Justices objected to instructions that stated that a killing by child abuse is first-degree murder regardless of whether the killing was intentional. They also ruled that jurors should have been able to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter.

During the first trial, experts disagreed about when and where Kierra suffered her injuries.

One expert said Kierra's injuries, which were akin to the toddler being dropped on her head from a two-story building, occurred while she was at Wegner's home.

But another expert told the jury he suspected Kierra was hurt a week before she died and the injury hadn't healed. Then she got hurt again while in Wegner's care -- possibly from a minor fall -- and the injury worsened, killing her.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.