A MOTHER who killed one of her twin sons because she only wanted a single baby has been jailed for 15 years to life in a case which a Utah judge, the father of twins himself, described as a matter of "profound sorrow."

Jewell Hendricks, from Ogden in Utah's north, had pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder for smothering her two-month-old son, Robert, with a sleeping bag on January 24, 2010, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

"This is sorrow that is difficult to quantify," Judge Michael DiReda told the 27-year-old. "The devastation that you have caused to your family, to yourself, and, quite honestly, to your surviving child, Daniel, is incomprehensible."

Hendricks, who had no prior criminal record, was dealing with a number of problems at the time she killed her son, including post-partum depression, according to her defense attorney and family members.

Deputy Weber County Attorney Dean Saunders said his office realized Hendricks "has some mental issues" but that did not excuse her actions.

Read more about woman jailed for killing one of her twins at The Salt Lake Tribune.