NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A former Nashville area pediatrician has been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of killing her newly adopted 4-year-old daughter.
Deborah Wen-Yee Mark received an automatic life sentence Friday after being convicted of first-degree murder. She also was convicted of four counts of aggravated child abuse and child abuse. She'll receive a sentence for those convictions later.
Defense attorney Jack Lowery Sr. plans to appeal. He said part of Mark's confession was coerced.
The Mark family adopted Kairissa from China in spring of 2010 and she was dead by July 2, 2010.
An autopsy showed she died from brain trauma, but had an extensive history of abuse, from 13 broken bones to scarring from previous incidents of abuse.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
