Mother of boy who died near Maiden Rock headed to jail

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NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- A Minnesota woman who failed to get help for her injured toddler has been sentenced to a year in jail, after the child died at a relative’s home in western Wisconsin.

Melissa Ohmann, 21, of Northfield was sentenced Thursday, after she pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter. She must also spend 10 years on probation.

Seventeen-month-old Nicholas Miller was shaken 15 times by his step-father Tylar Hokanson in 2009 in Northfield. The boy’s health got worse over the next four days, and prosecutors said Ohmann ignored her instincts and did nothing to get help for the youngster.

Nicholas later died at a family member’s home near Maiden Rock. Hokanson is now serving a life prison sentence, after he was convicted two years ago of killing Nicholas.

According to the criminal complaint in the Hokanson case, Miller was in pain from a broken back, which made it difficult to walk or even breathe. His brain was bleeding and he had other wounds on his body.

Prosecutors and investigators found Nicholas had been abused many times in the Town of Greenvale, which is located near Northfield. Hokanson admitted to shaking him because he was mad at his sister-in-law.

Ohmann expressed regret and sorrow for causing the toddler’s death but assistant prosecutor Jessica Bierwerth said Ohmann’s apology was quote, “too late for Nicholas.”

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