A woman whose 16-month-old daughter died after the child's father put her to bed beside a running space heater pleaded guilty yesterday to three misdemeanor counts of child endangering and a felony count of tampering with evidence.

A woman whose 16-month-old daughter died after the child�s father put her to bed beside a running space heater pleaded guilty yesterday to three misdemeanor counts of child endangering and a felony count of tampering with evidence.



Greta Sahatciu, 24, who now lives on Tinapple Road in Hilliard, could be sentenced to six months for each of the misdemeanors and 18 months for the felony conviction. Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Charles A. Schneider scheduled sentencing for Dec. 3.



None of the crimes was directly related to the death of the girl, Maiya Wilder, but Sahatciu was charged with tampering with evidence for hiding the space heater in a closet while the father, Michael L. Wilder, took the child to the hospital from the couple�s apartment on Medfield Way in Prairie Township.



Maiya and the couple�s other daughters, ages 3 and 5, were malnourished and developmentally delayed, which led to the endangering charges, Assistant Prosecutor Robert Letson said. Those girls are now healthy and in foster care, he said.



The judge said Children Services is considering returning the girls to Sahatciu. Defense attorney Jessica Fallon said Sahatciu lives with her parents.



Wilder, 30, told police that he put Maiya in a portable crib in a bedroom and mistakenly turned on a space heater rather than a fan. Then, he said, he closed the door and left her there for more than 10 hours before he woke up about 2 p.m. on June 29, 2013.



He found that the child was unresponsive and awakened Sahatciu. Both had taken over-the-counter sleeping pills, Letson said.



Maiya�s temperature was 106 degrees when she arrived at OhioHealth Doctors Hospital, he said. She died two days later in Nationwide Children�s Hospital. Letson said she was so malnourished that her weight was that of a typical 7-month-old.



Both parents are free on bond while awaiting the outcome of their cases.



In response to a question from the judge, Sahatciu confirmed that she is pregnant. Schneider told her that if he learns that Wilder is the father, it will be a violation of his order that Wilder have no contact with her as a condition of his bond.



Wilder, of Argyle Drive on the North Side, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, one felony count of child endangering and two misdemeanor counts of child endangering. He is scheduled for trial on Dec. 1.



He was seated in the back of the courtroom during Sahatciu�s hearing. After the hearing, the judge asked Letson to go into the hallway and make sure Sahatciu and Wilder didn�t leave together.



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