Prosecutor: Okemos mother's killing of infant daughter a 'heartless crime'

LANSING - The cremated remains of an Okemos woman's baby girl, who she murdered in 2013, continue to sit at a funeral home, prosecutors said this morning.

That fact sheds light on why Melissa Mitin, 26, was able to kill her second baby — a boy — a year later, Ingham County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Roth said during Mitin's sentencing hearing. He said it shows a lack of remorse.

Mitin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder March 18 as part of an agreement with prosecutors that set her minimum sentence at 27 1/2 years in prison, which Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James Jamo honored this morning during the sentencing hearing. The maximum was set at 40 years in prison.

"I'm very, very sorry for everything that happened," Mitin told Jamo before she was sentenced. "And thank you for your time."

Frank Reynolds, one of Mitin's defense attorneys, told Jamo his client accepts responsibility for what happened.

"It's a very difficult situation for everybody that's been involved," he said. "It's been really hard on Melissa. It's been hard on the family."

Roth told Jamo that Mitin committed a "frighteningly heartless crime" and that hiding her relationship with the father of the children contributed to what happened.

Prosecutors: Mitin left second baby in gas station dumpster

He also read a passage from Mitin's journal written about the anniversary of the first baby's death.

"'So Friday was the one-year anniversary of when this (expletive) happened. Crazy that it has been one year,'" Roth said, reading the passage. "She described the murder of her child as 'this (expletive)' because that child meant nothing to her. As the (pre-sentence report from the Department of Corrections) indicates, she felt no remorse for having killed this child."

Jamo seemed to consider setting the minimum higher or lower than the what was included in the plea agreement. He asked Mitin's attorney and Roth what would happen then. The consensus was that the case would proceed to trial. It was an alternative Jamo said he ultimately couldn't force on the parities.

In setting Mitin's sentence, Jamo said he struggled with the balancing punishment, rehabilitation and deterrence.

"The conduct is not understandable," he told Mitin. "It's not rational to me. It's not understandable. I can't really place it in a way that helps guide me as to what is appropriate for your sentence, as a result."

Okemos mother pleads guilty to murder charge in death of her baby

During the plea hearing last month, Mitin admitted to giving birth to a baby girl in December 2013 and blocking her breathing. She also admitted that she did it on purpose and that her actions caused the baby's death.

Mitin was charged in her daughter's death in May 2014 and released on bond. Three months later, she was pregnant again, which was unknown to authorities handling the murder case until January 2015. Her bond was revoked at a hearing that month and she has been jailed since.

Prosecutors allege Mitin gave birth to her second child — a boy — in December 2014 and left him in a gas station dumpster. Details relating to Mitin's second child were revealed in a motion by prosecutors seeking to admit the new evidence. The boy has not been found, but prosecutors believe he's dead.

Jamo denied that motion last month and days later Mitin pleaded guilty. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to charge Mitin in the death of her second baby.

She had been charged with murder, first-degree child abuse and concealing the death of a newborn in the December 2013 death of her baby girl. She was facing up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of first-degree murder at trial.

Phil Douma, executive director of Michigan Funeral Directors Association, said cremated remains are considered unclaimed after six months. Once the remains are unclaimed, the funeral home can send a notification the person who authorized the cremation of the intent to properly dispose of them remains.

Proper disposal, as defined by the statute, includes interment in a cemetery plot, in a crypt or a structure specially for cremated remains, Douma said.

The 30-day notice protects the funeral home from any legal recourse by the family if the remains are properly disposed of, he said.

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Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter@MattMencarini.