A mother in Maine admitted to leaving her 3-year-old daughter and family dog inside a vehicle for approximately 15 hours, leading to their deaths.
Kelly Sanders Brown pleaded guilty to manslaughter of a family or household member and aggravated animal cruelty during a hearing on Monday, August 31, according to WMTW.
A spokesperson for the Maine Attorney General’s Office told WMTW that as part of her plea agreement, Brown, 41, agreed to face between 20 to 25 years in prison for the manslaughter charge. She is also expected to receive a five-year sentence for aggravated animal cruelty, which will be served at the same time as the manslaughter sentence.
However, Penobscot County Superior Court Judge Bruce Mallonee still has to approve the plea deal and he will make a final decision regarding Brown’s sentencing at an upcoming hearing.
Her sentencing is expected to take place in November.
Brown entered the plea more than one year after she was charged with manslaughter when her daughter, Fiona, and the family’s 13-year-old dog, Penelope, were found dead inside an SUV outside a convenience store in Milford, Maine, on August 9, 2025.
Authorities learned of the incident when they were called to a Freshies store parking lot and discovered both were already deceased.
Brown was at the scene when police officers arrived.
Authorities reviewed surveillance footage from the convenience store parking lot and saw Brown leaving the vehicle around 2 a.m., according to a criminal complaint obtained by People. She returned and left the vehicle about four hours later, and the surveillance footage captured her until she walked out of the frame. The vehicle remained in the same spot throughout the video and did not move before officers arrived.
Investigators determined that Brown left Fiona and Penelope inside the locked vehicle. Fiona’s body was found on the driver’s seat and Penelope was found on the floor of the vehicle. The young girl died from hyperthermia (extreme overheating) as well as dehydration.
At the time of the incident, Brown, Fiona and Penelope were traveling from Pennsylvania to Maine for an annual family trip. Brown spoke to investigators and said she and her daughter had been stopping to pick up trash during the road trip.
Brown told police that she left her daughter and dog in the vehicle when she went to throw out a bag of trash. She then claimed that she fell into the Penobscot River.
Investigators said that surveillance footage conflicted with Brown’s version of events. Not only did investigators note that her clothing was dry while she was being interviewed, they said she did not acknowledge coming back to the car at one point during the incident.
Authorities also learned that Brown’s family expressed concerns about her behavior in the weeks leading up to the incident.
Investigators ultimately determined that Brown acted recklessly when she left Fiona and Penelope inside the vehicle and they accused her of consciously disregarding the risk of injury or death to the victims.
Fiona’s probable cause of death was determined to be related to spending several hours inside the vehicle and exposure to heat, per the criminal complaint.
