CANTON ‒ A Canton mother has been sentenced to prison for the July stabbing death of her adult daughter.
Terri Niner pleaded guilty Sept. 25 to charges of involuntary manslaughter and negligent assault, the Stark County prosecutor’s office said.
Related: Canton mother to face lesser charges tied to stabbing death of autistic daughter
Stark County Common Pleas Judge Taryn Heath sentenced Niner to three years in prison, the maximum allowed by law for the third-degree felony of involuntary manslaughter, according to Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Dan Petricini.
Heath sentenced Niner to the maximum sentence of 60 days for the third-degree misdemeanor of negligent assault. Niner will serve both sentences at the same time.
Niner, 49, of 20th Street NE, agreed to plead guilty after prosecutors agreed that Niner could seek early release from Heath after serving about one year of her sentence.
Petricini said whether Heath grants the request to release Niner from prison will depend largely on Niner’s behavior in prison. Niner will get credit for the more than two months she’s been held at the Stark County Jail.
Niner fatally stabbed her 32-year-old daughter, Ayla M. Mangan, on July 10 during an argument at Niner’s home.
Petricini said investigators established that Mangan, who had autism, originally had wielded the knife. Niner grabbed it from Mangan during a struggle before stabbing her.
Investigators, based on interviews of witnesses and evidence at the crime scene, did not find any intent by Niner to kill Mangan, he said.
“This is tough,” Petricini said. “No one thought that this happened because Terri wanted to kill Ayla.”
A Stark County grand jury declined to indict Mangan for the original charges of murder, felonious assault and domestic violence. The grand jury amended the charges to involuntary manslaughter and negligent assault.
The grand jury also declined to indict Niner’s husband for obstructing justice. Police had alleged that he had not told the truth to investigators.
Mangan’s father, who is not Niner’s husband, had initially planned to attend the court hearing and possibly give a statement to the judge, said Petricini. But Mangan’s father later canceled plans to appear.
Petricini said he explained the plea agreement to Mangan’s father and cousin and they did not object to the terms.
Niner’s attorney, Justin Downing of the Stark County Public Defender’s office, could not be reached for comment. The agency’s office generally does not comment on cases.
An upset Niner told a 911 operator that she and her daughter were always fighting “over some dumb stuff.”
She said her daughter grabbed a knife off the wall while they were fighting and came at her. She said her daughter has a tendency to throw things.
“Did you cut her?” the dispatcher asked.
“No, I grabbed the knife from her, and she went to throw herself backwards because she’s autistic. And when she went to throw herself backwards, it got her. And I thought it only cut her a little bit,” she said on the recording.
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Terri Niner pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of daughter