Samantha Richards, the Amherstburg woman who admitted to disposing of her dead baby in a London dumpster two years ago, has been given a suspended sentence and placed on two years probation.

Richards, now 25, pleaded guilty in May to concealing the body of a dead child in a shopping bag and tossing it into a dumpster off Richmond Row.

The court was told she had kept her pregnancy secret and gave birth to the baby in the bathroom of her apartment on Ann Street on June 13, 2016.

The baby died shortly before or during childbirth. He was a full or near-term baby boy, weighing just over six pounds. An autopsy could not determine the cause of death.

Richards was arrested on June 18, 2016, after a homeless man digging around a dumpster off Richmond Street found the body of a newborn in a plastic grocery bag.

Richards pleaded guilty to concealing the body of a child. A charge of failing to get help during child birth was dropped after the Crown saw no reasonable prospect of conviction.

No jail time

There was never a question of whether Richards would be going to jail. The Crown and the defence agreed earlier that would not be an appropriate sentence.

The question was whether she would receive a conditional discharge, which would spare her a criminal record, or whether she should be given a suspended sentence, which would leave her with a criminal record after probation.

Justice Duncan Grace decided on the latter. He said a conditional discharge would be too lenient for what he called a "serious crime" that the court "must denounce."

He said the circumstances were troubling: Richards knew she was pregnant, it was an unwanted pregnancy and she had deep-seated emotional issues.

On the other hand, he said, there was another life at stake. He said "the court applauds her" for accepting responsibility for her actions."

Richards distraught

It was revealed during sentencing submissions in July that Richards is a very distraught woman. She cried for much of the court hearing, and at one point appearing to suffer a mild panic attack.

Patricia Brown, Richards' defence lawyer, said she could disclose whether there would be an appeal of the sentence. But she said the judge's decision was "well reasoned and very compassionate." (Gary Ennett/CBC)

Her lawyer, Patricia Brown of Windsor, told reporters after Wednesday`s sentencing that "you can see from her body language … how she`s very shaken. This is an extremely stressful time for her."

Brown – who had asked the judge for a conditional discharge -- said was "not in a position to disclose" whether there would be an appeal.

"The judge`s decision was well reasoned. It was very compassionate. He considered all of the circumstances of my client."

She said Richards will not be eligible to apply for a pardon for her criminal conviction until five years after she successfully completes her probation.

Brown commented during sentencing submissions that Richards had changed her appearance since her arrest and the intense media interest in the case.

She said prior to her arrest her client was a "vibrant young woman, with a plethora of friends, one course away from graduating." Now, most of her family doesn`t speak to her and friends have not kept in touch, Brown said.

The defence lawyer said Wednesday her condition is unchanged.

"There was a lot of self-hatred, remorse and self shame attached to these proceedings, and we all hope she can forgive herself and start moving forward."