A woman from Missouri has managed to avoid incarceration after admitting guilt to charges of child abuse on Friday.

In a session at the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court in St. Louis, 22-year-old Emily Rigdon confessed to two charges of abusing or neglecting a child. She was initially sentenced to five years for each charge, with the terms to run at the same time.

Despite this, the judge acknowledged the 600 days Rigdon had already spent in jail and suspended the prison term, according to Law&Crime. Instead, she will undergo three years of probation and must attend anger management classes.

As previously noted by CrimeOnline, the incident took place in April 2024 at a home in St. Louis, where Rigdon recorded herself smothering a baby and shared the footage with a friend. She used both her hand and a blanket to cover the infant’s face, leading the child to cry and try to remove the blanket.

In a text message, Rigdon disturbingly wrote, “IDK when I do that, I feel happy like an adrenaline rush. I be stopping right before he dies. Last time, he was blue. I really wanna kill him but I don’t want to go to jail so. It’s unfortunate. He’s just gonna have to pay for his existence.”

She later recorded a second video, doing the same thing. The footage showed the baby “vigorously grab at the blanket.”

Ridgon’s son was under six months old at the time, and there was an active restraining order against his father. The infant survived, but it’s currently unclear who is caring for him.

Rigdon’s lawyer previously revealed in court that her borderline personality disorder had been exacerbated by postpartum depression.

No other reason has been provided as to why she harmed the child.

[Feature Photo: Emma Rigdon/City Justice Center]