VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach couple was sentenced for involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of a 38 day old infant girl who died with methamphetamine in her system, the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney announced Tuesday.
Karista Bohren, the mother of the child, was sentenced to 16 years in prison with six years suspended, meaning she has 10 years left to serve of her sentence. She pled guilty to both involuntary manslaughter and child abuse/neglect in May.
Her husband, Skip Bohren, also pled guilty to a manslaughter charge earlier this year. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors claim the couple admitted to using methamphetamine during and after Karista's pregnancy, in addition to the heroin Karista allegedly admitted to consuming post-partum.
In the days leading up to Sept. 5, 2021 — the day of the incident — the couple said the infant had been fussy and was particularly upset the night prior to her death.
The couple allegedly brought the child with them to retrieve Lime scooters to recharge before returning to their apartment around 3 a.m. Prosecutors say Skip laid the child on the bed between himself and Karista before going to sleep for the night.
When Karista awoke the following morning, at around 7:30 a.m., she discovered blood around the baby's mouth and her arm in an upward position, according to attorneys. Despite Skip's attempts to perform CPR, the child was dead.
The child's cause of death was determined to be Sudden Unexpected Infant Death in relation to methamphetamine, amphetamine intoxication and unsafe sleep.
Karista was convicted twice in 2021 for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. She also had a misdemeanor conviction for providing false information to an officer.
Skip also has multiple prior convictions, with most recent in 2017 when he was convicted of four counts of larceny, one count of possession of stolen goods, two counts of breaking and entering and count assault on a female.