Mom who failed to call 911 for child given early release

NEWARK – A Newark mother who failed to call 911 for her child was granted early release from prison Tuesday.

Angela M. Walsh, 33, had spent more than eight months behind bars on a third-degree felony charge of endangering children prior to her release. Her original sentence was for two years.

Walsh pleaded guilty in September to the charge after admitting to not calling 911 for her 2-year-old son, who had ingested at least 4 pills of an anti-psychotic medication in June 2014.

Walsh reportedly did not call 911 for at least 22 hours because she was fearful she would lose custody of the child. Walsh told Judge David Branstool on Tuesday that she has six children and does not have custody of any of them, including the 2-year-old involved in this case.

Prosecutors did not oppose Walsh’s motion for judicial release, but said Walsh had clear directives about education she needed with regard to parenting skills.

Walsh told Branstool when she first went to prison in November she was “scared and angry” and thought her life was over. She said she realized soon, however, that Branstool had sent her to prison to give her an opportunity to learn from her mistakes.

“In a moment of fear, I made a very stupid mistake,” she said. “It could have cost not me, him, dearly.”

Walsh will have to serve three years of community control, complete 100 hours of community service and pay all court costs and fees. If she were to violate her probation, Walsh would have a suspended sentence of 16 months that could be imposed.