Woman who killed stepdaughter by forcing her to drink grape soda could get sentence cut

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ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. – Six months after getting a 35-year sentence for killing her stepdaughter by forcing her to drink grape soda, a Tennessee prisoner is scheduled for an early parole hearing that could nearly halve her sentence.

The Kingsport Times-News reports (http://bit.ly/1AL3fRf ) that a hearing for 58-year-old Mary Vaughn is scheduled for June 15. Vaughn and her husband, 42-year-old Randall Vaughn, pleaded guilty last December in the death of 5-year-old Alexa Linboom. Prosecutors say the couple forced Mary Vaughn’s stepdaughter to drink grape soda as a punishment, killing her in January 2012.

An autopsy showed the girl drank about 2.4 liters of liquid over a one-to-two hour span.

The hearing in Nashville will determine whether Vaughn will receive parole on her 15-year sentence. If granted, she could begin serving her 20-year sentence immediately.

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Information from: Kingsport Times-News, http://www.timesnews.net