Woman Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of 3-Year-Old Girl
FLORENCE, AZ (April 25th, 2024) - A Pinal County Superior Court Judge has sentenced Shawn Main, 53, to life in prison for the murder of a three-year-old girl.
On Thursday, Pinal County Superior Court Judge Daniel Washburn sentenced Main to life plus an additional 17 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Washburn previously found Main guilty of First Degree Felony Murder; Child Abuse, a Class Two Felony; and two counts of Child Abuse as Class Four Felonies.
“Children are the most vulnerable in our community and it’s a tragedy this young girl’s life was cut so short,” said County Attorney Kent Volkmer. “Those who abuse children need to be held accountable. Our thoughts are with the girl’s siblings who will go through life without their sister.”
This trial took place as a bench trial, meaning the judge, not a jury, made the determination of guilt or innocence.
On November 19th, 2015, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office responded to Banner Casa Grande Medical Center reference a death investigation of a three-year-old girl named Tiana. Deputies advised Tiana had injuries across her body in addition to an extremely severe diaper rash.
Detectives spoke with the woman who was with the child, identified as Main. Main and her wife were also living with another woman in Maricopa and were trying to adopt her four children, which included Tiana. Main claimed the girl had repeatedly fallen and that is how the severe injuries occurred. During interviews with investigators, Main made conflicting statements about what took place. The state argued that blunt force trauma was the cause of death, with a dozen impacts to the victim's head and face, and that the injuries were not at all consistent with a child falling on their own.
During sentencing, several statements were read on behalf of Tiana’s juvenile brothers, who described how her death has affected them and recalled Tiana as a child who loved Minnie Mouse and Hello Kitty. Deputy County Attorney Shawn Jensvold told the Court, “Had Ms. Main demonstrated just an ounce of human decency…none of this would have happened.”
Main addressed the Court and did not accept responsibility, but in reference to the guilty verdicts told the judge, “I couldn’t believe you got it so wrong.”
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