A Newton County woman will spend 15 years behind bars for the 2018 shooting death of her 2-year-old daughter.
Jennifer Michelle Bellah, 33, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to one count of felony murder Wednesday morning, prosecutors said. Under the plea agreement, she must serve her entire 15-year sentence without the possibility of parole, followed by the rest of her life on probation.
Bellah was arrested Aug. 28, 2018, after her daughter, Natalya, was shot and killed at her home on Brown Thrasher Run near Oxford, AJC.com previously reported.
According to investigators, Bellah called 911 just before 6 p.m. and told dispatchers she shot her 2-year-old. Natalya was pronounced dead when deputies arrived at the home.
Bellah was arrested that evening on charges of murder, aggravated assault and possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime, but investigators never revealed a motive in the case. Natalya was her only child, prosecutors said.
Bellah lived at the home with the girl’s grandmother, but no one else was there when the child was shot. A pistol, a shell casing and bullets were recovered from the scene.
The 2-year-old’s death shocked neighbors, who told reporters they regularly saw the little girl playing outside and that she seemed to come from a “happy family.”
“It breaks my heart,” said Jackie Kendrick, who lived in the neighborhood. “This was a baby. A 2-year-old baby. It’s devastating.”
Had the case gone to trial, psychologists would have testified that Bellah suffered from a serious mental health illness, said Randy McGinley, acting district attorney for the Alcovy Judicial Circuit.
Given the woman’s condition, a jury could have found her not guilty by reason of insanity and placed her in a mental health facility run by the state, he said. Had that been the case, Bellah would have been subject to regular mental health evaluations and could have been released from custody within a few weeks if she was later found to be competent.
Because she pleaded guilty but mentally ill, Bellah will be turned over to the Georgia Department of Corrections and will receive mental health treatment in prison, authorities said.
“The death of Natalya was a horrendous crime and this plea and sentence ends the case with the appropriate outcome,” McGinley said, thanking the Newton County investigators and others who responded to what he called an unthinkable tragedy.
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