Iowa mom gets life for murdering son; barred from contacting surviving son

Story here. Excerpt:

'(CNN) -- An Iowa mother was sentenced to life without parole Tuesday for slitting her 2-year-old son's throat and leaving him to die near a remote pond in October 2008, a prosecutor said.

Michelle Kehoe, 36, also received 25 years on one count of attempted murder for slashing her older son's throat. She left both children outside the family van before attempting to kill herself.

The 7-year-old survived and provided key testimony against his mother, whose attorneys argued that she believed she was trying to save her sons from a life of suffering when she cut their throats and her own.

A jury rejected her insanity defense and convicted her of first-degree murder, attempted murder and child endangerment on November 4.

Kehoe also received a 10-year sentence for child endangerment for the injuries she inflicted on her older son, who survived for the night locked inside the family van, Buchanan County Attorney Allan Vander Hart said.'