A South Dakota woman who pleaded guilty to neglecting her disabled 18-year-old son, who weighed just 80 lbs at the time of his death, was sentenced to prison.
A press release from the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office announced that a judge sentenced 40-year-old Naomia Prairie on Monday to 12 years in prison. She pleaded guilty to child abuse and abuse or neglect of a disabled adult, acknowledging that she engaged in abuse against her late 18-year-old son, Donny Merrival, and her 7-year-old child.
According to the State’s Attorney’s Office, Prairie exposed both of her children to illegal drugs while they were in her care. Her son, who had become a quadriplegic at the age of 14, was malnourished, never bathed, and had taken on the appearance of a “Holocaust victim,” according to