From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
HUNTSVILLE — The parents of an 11-month-old girl who was born addicted to methadone and died after being fatally overdosed with antihistamine have received lengthy prison sentences, news outlets report.
Joshua Foster was sentenced Monday to life in prison for aggravated child abuse and Porsha Bole was sentenced to 50 years on the same charge. Prosecutors and medical experts said Arianna Foster had up to three times the recommended amount of antihistamines in her body when she died. The bed sore-ridden baby also was starved, gaining only a single pound in between her birth and death in September 2018, according to court records. She never crawled or even appeared to try walking, investigators said.
The doctor said she weighed just 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) and was severely dehydrated and underfed when she died in 2018.
“Cows at the slaughterhouse live a better life and die better than this little girl,” Madison County Assistant District Attorney Tim Douthit said.
Foster’s life sentence was automatic as he has two prior felony convictions for theft and drug possession. His defense attorney, Chad Morgan, said he will appeal. Foster maintains that he didn’t know about Arianna’s mistreatment as he was working full time and left Bole to care for the children.
The couple’s two other children, both toddlers, have been placed in state care. Prosecutors have said it’s unclear why those children were cared for while Arianna was neglected.