No prison sentence for Fort Wayne mother accused of attacking her son with hammer

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – A Fort Wayne woman accepted a plea deal Monday that would keep her out of prison for the attack that left her son with life-threatening injuries.

BACKGROUND: Woman charged with attempted murder after her child was found with 'life-threatening injuries' on Tuesday

Fleming was charged with attempted murder and neglect of a dependent person resulting in serious bodily harm after her son was attacked with a hammer.

The plea deal offered to her allows her to plead guilty but mentally ill to neglect of a dependent person and receive a five-year sentence. Fleming would have to serve three of the five-year sentence in Allen County Community Corrections, followed by two years of home confinement.

Allen Superior Court Judge David Zent will decide whether to accept or reject the agreement at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Sept. 30.

When police arrived at the scene, they found Fleming's neck bleeding, according to an affidavit. The defendant told police she believed someone was coming to sell her and her son as sex slaves.

COURT DOCUMENTS: Woman hits son on the head with hammer and stabs herself

When asked if she had harmed herself and her son, Fleming said she had hit her son with a hammer, adding that she “thought that was the only way.”

Fleming called 911 after the attack and said she thought someone was coming to take her and her son away.

“So I tried to kill him, I think I killed him, and I stabbed myself,” Fleming reportedly told dispatchers. “Please, my name is Bethany.”

The story continues following our previous coverage.