A 49-year-old Eagan grandmother has pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in connection with the 2012 death of her 2-month-old grandson.
As part of a plea agreement filed Sept. 24, attorneys for Johanna Mercedes Limpert Beeler and the Dakota County attorney's office will recommend she spend 60 days in jail with credit for four days served. She will be sentenced in Dakota County District Court on Dec. 17.
According to charges filed in March, Beeler's daughter called police on July 7, 2012, when she discovered her son, Brayden Michael Beeler, unresponsive in his grandmother's arms. Brayden's mother told investigators she left her son with Beeler before going to a party the previous night.
Police found Beeler distraught, crying and showing signs of impairment, including falling asleep while talking to officers. A little more than an hour after police arrived, Beeler provided a preliminary breath test sample of 0.187 and was taken to the hospital for a suspected overdose, the charges said. Part of Beeler's plea agreement also calls for a chemical dependency evaluation.
Beeler told police she fell asleep with Brayden in her bed, according to the charges. When she awoke, Beeler said Brayden was unresponsive and blood trickled from his nose when she picked him up. An autopsy did not reveal a cause of death, but did not rule out suffocation.
Stephen Montemayor • 952-746-3282
