Judith Maria Sobol, a 42-year-old home healthcare nurse in Michigan, has been sentenced to 30 to 75 years in a state penitentiary for the 2022 killing of 3-year-old Ophelia Mazure. Ophelia’s mother, Shelby Mazure, testified at Sobol’s trial that her daughter had been born with severe medical problems and required constant monitoring and a ventilator. During the three-day trial, the jury found Sobol guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of possession of a controlled substance – methamphetamine.
According to officers with the Coloma Township Police Department, they responded to a 911 call at around 2:30 a.m. on June 20, 2022 and found both Ophelia and her parents inside the victim’s room. Her father was performing CPR on her, and the parents told the police that they had hired Sobol to watch their daughter while they slept.
When the police arrived, they found Sobol lying on the ground in the fetal position next to the child, mumbling incoherently. Ophelia was transported to Spectrum Lakeland Hospital in Watervliet, but unfortunately, she could not be saved and was pronounced dead at approximately 4 a.m. Sobol allegedly confessed to using meth before coming to work and admitted to being responsible for Ophelia’s death. The toddler’s trachea tube was found tangled up in her hair at the hospital.
Judge Angela Pasula credited Sobol with 323 days of time served and ordered her to serve a sentence of 30 to 75 years. Sobol will become eligible for parole when she is 71.