Cook County Judge Tiana S. Blakely sentenced Melody Townsend to two years of probation for her role in concealing the 2017 death of her 1-year-old daughter, Ana Marie Townsend. The probation term began Oct. 28 and will expire Oct. 28, 2028.
Townsend was convicted in January of one count of concealing a homicidal death and one count of endangering a child under circumstances involving death. She was not convicted of murder, and the person responsible for Ana Marie's death remains unknown.
Police discovered Ana Marie's body in a plastic bag wrapped in a blanket in the attic of a vacant house in Markham, Illinois on July 3, 2017, after responding to a fire. An autopsy determined the child died from homicide prior to the fire and showed she had suffered physical abuse. Toxicology tests revealed drugs and alcohol in her system.
For years, the child was identified only as "Baby Jane Doe" until authorities matched the remains to Townsend's daughter.
During phone calls with the baby's grandparents, who repeatedly asked about their granddaughter in the months after the fire, Townsend played "fake baby cries from the internet" to convince them the child was still alive, according to court reports. When the grandparents expressed suspicion that the cries did not sound like Ana Marie, Townsend claimed the child was "not feeling well."
Townsend's sentence requires her to undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment, complete a domestic violence counseling program, and submit to DNA indexing. Activists gathered outside the courthouse demanding an explanation of the sentencing decision and an update on the investigation.