Putnam Woman Gets Prison Time for Death of Boyfriend's 2-Year-Old Son

A Putnam woman will serve two years in prison in connection with the choking death of her boyfriend's 2-year-old son in April 2014.

Renee Peterson was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison, according to the clerk at Danielson Superior Court. Her sentence will be suspended after she serves two years behind bars and will be followed by five years of probation.

Peterson and her boyfriend, David Mahan, were arrested in April 2014 in connection with the death of Mahan's 2-year-old son. Peterson was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and risk of injury to a minor.

According to the warrant for her arrest, Peterson left Mahan’s two sons, ages 2 and 1, alone in a locked bedroom while she went to a methadone clinic in Willimantic the morning of March 26.

While she was gone, the toddler choked to death on a piece of food and was later found unresponsive at the home on Mechanic Drive, the warrant says.

Police initially said the boy’s death appeared to be an accident.

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