In the community

Ontario mother sentenced to prison for abusing 5-month-old twins

The father of twin 5-month-old girls got disturbing text messages from their mother while he was on his graveyard work shift.

The mother, Heidi M. Dinsmore, shared “frustration with the twin girls’ feeding and sleeping schedule being opposite,” according to a report from Malheur County District Attorney Dave Goldthorpe.

The father returned to his Ontario home that day, Feb. 22, to find one child unresponsive and an hour later, Dinsmore took both girls to the hospital.

“Medical professionals ruled the child’s unresponsive and seizing condition was the result of blunt force trauma to the head and rushed her for critical life-saving treatment in Boise,” according to the prosecution report. “The second twin was found to have similar physical injuries.”

Last week, Dinsmore, 30, was sentenced to four years in state prison after pleading no contest to two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment. The case was investigated by the Ontario Police Department.

Court records showed that Dinsmore had four children and all were in state care.

After she was charged, Dinsmore pleaded with a judge to be released from jail while her case was pending.

She said she had no criminal record, worked at an Ontario hotel, would be getting mental treatment and “I would be the perfect candidate for probation and treatment.” Her request was denied.

The prosecutor’s report said the seriously injured child “remained in hospital level care for an extended period of time.”

“Both children are happy and thriving today,” the report said. “Specialists marvel at the first child’s recovery and continued positive development notwithstanding the extensive injuries she suffered. Doctors involved did not initially expect her to survive,” the report said.

News tip? Contact Editor Les Zaitz: [email protected]

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