A Las Vegas woman who authorities say tried to suffocate her elderly father at the Idaho Veterans Home in Lewiston last year, has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
2nd District Judge Michelle Evans accepted the plea by 55-year-old Sandra McCarty through a Zoom appearance at the Nez Perce County Courthouse.
McCarty was charged Feb. 2, 2023, and indicted by a grand jury May 31, 2023, for the battery of her father, 81-year-old Robert Whitlock. He died Feb. 13, 2023, of causes unrelated to the incident.
As part of the agreement, the charge was changed to aggravated battery from attempted first-degree murder. The amended complaints state that McCarty used force or violence on Whitlock by placing her hands over his mouth and nose, trying to suffocate him.
The sentence will be for a fixed two years with an additional eight years indeterminate for 10 years total, but the defense is allowed to argue for probation instead of a jail sentence and McCarty will also give up her right to appeal.
McCarty’s sentencing date is set for July 11.
