BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Megan Boswell was sentenced on Friday to serve an additional 33 years after her life sentence.

During a sentencing hearing, Judge Jim Goodwin decided on sentencing for Boswell on all charges other than the first-degree murder of her toddler daughter, Evelyn Boswell.

Boswell was found guilty on 19 charges in the death of Evelyn after an 11-day trial in February. A jury found her guilty on all counts, including three counts of first-degree murder. Those three murder counts were rolled into one during Friday’s sentencing hearing.

The jury also sentenced her to life in prison with the possibility of parole on the murder charges.

The sentencing hearing addressed the following charges Boswell was found guilty of:

• Aggravated child abuse
• Aggravated child neglect
• Tampering with evidence
• 11 counts of false report
• Abuse of a corpse
• Failure to report a death under suspicious, unusual or unnatural circumstances

The Second Judicial District Attorney General’s Office filed documents in April seeking enhanced sentencing. The state hoped to see Boswell’s other charges result in a back-to-back sentence to her murder life sentence, which would keep her in prison for the rest of her life.

Boswell’s attorney, Gene Scott, opposed that request. He said enhanced sentencing would go against what the jury decided in her sentencing trial. Scott said if Boswell were able to serve time for her other charges concurrently during her life sentence, she would be released when she is around 69 years old.

Boswell’s murder conviction could have resulted in a life sentence without the possibility of parole, but the jury decided to grant that possibility after a sentencing trial that took place immediately after her criminal trial.

During the February sentencing trial, jurors heard testimony from Boswell’s mother, grandmother and foster mother.

Sullivan Co. Sheriff and Investigator on the Stand

The first person called to the stand on Friday was Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy. Cassidy said the sheriff’s office was the first agency to be involved in the Evelyn Boswell case, which began when she was reported missing. An AMBER Alert was issued shortly after Evelyn was reported missing.

According to Cassidy, his investigators worked around the clock for about 18 days on the case, equalling about 740 hours of work from his office. The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) requested assistance from regional, state and federal agencies during the investigation.

Cassidy said if Boswell had told investigators the truth from the beginning, the search for Evelyn and the entire investigation would have been handled differently.

Cassidy also told the court that the community offered to help in any way possible, bringing food for the investigators. Cassidy was then released as a witness without cross-examination.

The next person called was SCSO Lt. Matt Price. Price was shown a series of photos that were used as evidence during Boswell’s trial, specifically photos of Evelyn’s body when it was recovered from a trash can. The final photo he was shown was one of the last known photos taken of Evelyn when she was alive.

Price was released as a witness.

Boswell Claims Unfair Treatment

Boswell herself then took the stand and said the State of Tennessee had treated her unfairly throughout the investigation and trial.

“I would just like to say that the State of Tennessee treated me very unfair during this whole investigation, and if I had a fair trial and an impartial jury, I would have been acquitted of the murder charges.

“I would have never hurt my baby, and I did not kill Evelyn.”

Final Arguments

Deputy District Attorney William Harper told the court that the state was still seeking enhanced sentencing and wanted Boswell to serve her sentences consecutively, with the sentences from all other charges being served after her life sentence from the murder conviction.

Harper said Boswell’s treatment of Evelyn’s body, which was found compressed in a trash can, was a factor to consider, and the fact that Boswell was the mother of the victim should be weighed.

He also told Judge Jim Goodwin that Boswell’s “callous” behavior after Evelyn’s death should be taken into account, stating that she went on trips afterward and never reported Evelyn missing.

Harper claimed the severity of Boswell’s crimes and her repeated false statements given to investigators were enough to classify her as a dangerous offender. He said it was in the interest of public safety for Boswell to serve a longer time in prison.

Referencing Boswell’s brief statement on the stand Friday, Harper told Goodwin that she still shows no remorse. He asked that her sentences run consecutively at maximum capability.

Boswell’s attorney, Gene Scott, then delivered his statement. Scott noted Boswell did not have any real criminal history prior to the charges she was convicted of in February and that she had been in jail since she was 18 years old.

He reiterated what he told News Channel 11 in February that the jury decided Boswell was entitled to a chance at life outside of prison when her life sentence for the murder conviction was served.

Scott asked that Boswell’s three murder convictions be merged to serve as one sentence and that the sentence for her 16 other charges be served concurrently (at one time), rather than consecutively (back-to-back).

Scott also told Goodwin that a defendant has the right to maintain their innocence, which Boswell did when she made her statement Friday.

The court went into recess for 15 minutes after Scott’s statement.

Goodwin Sentences Boswell

When court resumed, Goodwin said he had considered all evidence and statements made in the case. He went over the range of sentencing for each of Boswell’s charges.

The state submitted a number of enhancement factors to consider when sentencing Boswell. Goodwin went over those and accepted some.

Goodwin said the age of Evelyn at the time of her death – between 13 and 15 months old – was an accepted enhancing factor, as was the nature of the crime and disposal of Evelyn’s body.

“Thinking back on the proof I heard, there can be no more cruel act than to stuff a 13 to 15 month old baby wrapped in blankets and aluminum foil in a trash can, especially when that baby is your baby,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin said one mitigating factor that could be taken into account when sentencing Boswell, is her age at the time of the offense. Goodwin said that while she was a young adult, it had become clear during the trial that Boswell saw a chance to lead a differently life without Evelyn and removed her.

Boswell’s lack of a working history was brought up by Goodwin, but he did note she did not have a previous criminal past.

After weighing all the factors, Goodwin decided on his sentence for Boswell.

For the aggravated child abuse and neglect charges, Goodwin said the court was of the opinion that a 25-year sentence was appropriate when the two were rolled together. For tampering with evidence, Goodwin sentenced Boswell to six years.

On the false report charges, Goodwin cited a previous ruling and merged all 11 counts into one. Boswell was given a four-year sentence on the false reports charge.

The abuse of a corpse charge and the failure to report a death were each afforded 2-year sentences.

Boswell’s three murder charges were merged into one.

On the matter of consecutive or concurrent sentecing, Goodwin cited another ruling and said certain factors must be met in order to rule in favor of consecutive sentences.

Goodwin called back to photos of Evelyn stuffed headfirst into a trash can, and he said there was no doubt in his mind that Boswell killed her without hesitation. He said the proof presented in the trial that showed how she lived after Evelyn’s death and how she appeared to behave, led him to believe that Boswell thought of Evelyn as something in the way of the life she wanted.

“This court never once saw remorse, never once saw empathy out of the defendant,” Goodwin said. “So she is a dangerous offender.”

Goodwin said that the way parole is set up requires she serves 51 years before she is eligible for parole.

“Society does need to be protected from the evil that lurks in her heart,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin sentenced Boswell to serve the 25 years for the aggravated child abuse and child neglect after the murder life sentence. The 6-year tampering with evidence sentence and 4-year false reports sentence could be served concurrently but must be served after the 25-year sentence. The 2-year abuse of a corpse and failure to report a death sentences are to be served concurrently but after the 6-year tampering with evidence sentence.

A status hearing was set for Jan. 16, 2026. Boswell will likely appear virtually for that hearing.