RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A woman who caused the death of her newborn child and dumped her in a trash receptacle behind a Riverside business almost four decades ago pleaded guilty today to voluntary manslaughter and was immediately sentenced to four years’ felony probation.
Melissa Jean Allen Avila, 56, of Shelby, North Carolina, admitted the count under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. Avila had originally been charged with first-degree murder, but that was reduced to manslaughter under the plea bargain.
During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Thursday, Superior Court Judge Gary Polk certified the terms of the agreement and imposed the term of probation, which expires in November 2029…