Indiana Woman Pleads Guilty, Agrees To Testify In Death Of Boy Locked In Cage

By Chuck Sudo in News on May 3, 2012 2:00PM

Kimberly Kubina of Gary, Ind. pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of neglect in the death of Christian Choate. The young boy had been missing since 2009 when his remains were discovered underneath a concrete slab last year after his sister told his mother about his death and the burial by Kubina and Christian's father, Riley Choate.

Riley Choate was charged last year with murder, battery, two counts of neglect of a dependent and criminal confinement, altering the scene of a death, failing to notify authorities of discovering a dead body and failing to report a dead body. Christian Choate's sister said that he was kept in a cage and a preliminary autopsy indicated that he died of blunt force trauma, internal bleeding and a skull fracture. Riley Choate has pleaded not guilty.

Under terms of Kubina's plea agreement, she has agreed to a sentence of 25-35 years in prison in exchange for testifying against her ex-husband. Kubina also admits to a series of escalating punishments for the boy that ultimately led to his death, according to the Northwest Indiana Times.

Both Riley Choate and Kubina were set to stand trial May 14, but Kubina's attorney told Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Ross Boswell she likely would not have been ready for trial because discovery in the case was ongoing.