Las Vegas mother sentenced to prison for killing toddler son

Lina PortmanJune 1, 2024

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Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones sentenced Lindsey Bello, 24, to 10 to 25 years in prison. Bello has been in custody awaiting trial since his arrest two years ago. With credit for time served, Bello will be eligible for release in 2032. (LVMPD/KLAS)

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A mother who killed her baby will spend at least eight more years behind bars before being eligible for parole as part of a sentence handed down Thursday.

Last month, Bello entered pleas with Alford to second-degree murder and child abuse, records show. An Alford plea means the defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to convince a jury.

Miles Stano III, who was about to turn 4 months old, died April 1, 2022, from blunt force head trauma, the Clark County Coroner's Office said. His manner of death was homicide. Police said his parents, Bello and Miles Stano Jr., 30, were his only two dependents.

*Police said the boy's parents, Miles Stano Jr., 30; and Lindsey Bello, 28, were the only two people in his care at the time of his death. (LVMPD/KLAS)*

At the time of her arrest, police said Bello told officers she had put the baby to take a nap, later finding him unconscious. Documents updated by prosecutors indicate the couple hit or stomped on the child's head or hit the child's head with an object. When examining the child's body, the coroner noted his “emaciated” appearance, several skull fractures and bruises on his face and arms, police said.

A neighbor told police he noticed a hole in the yard and “thought they had planned the baby's death and were going to bury him,” according to documents. A witness later told police that they heard Bello and Stano “blaming each other for doing something” and that Stano “threw something…at the wall and tried to 'cover it up,'” police said.

Stano pleaded with Alford to the same charges and sentence. Jones was scheduled to sentence him on June 27.