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SALT LAKE CITY — A judge ordered a West Valley woman on Wednesday to serve a term of 25 years to life in prison for killing her 4-year-old daughter. The woman said she was suffering from schizoaffective disorder.
Nicole Lester, 32, was arrested on Dec. 31, 2019 after going to a neighbor's home around 5 a.m. saying she wanted to turn herself in. She told dispatchers "I just killed my daughter" and told police "I need to be arrested now," according to charging documents.
The 4-year-old girl, Lainey Vos, was declared dead at the home. A medical examination showed over 30 cutting wounds, some suggested the girl had been trying to defend herself and was alert, the charging documents state.
Lester rocked back and forth in her chair at the jail during Wednesday's sentencing, which was held virtually. She was wearing a yellow jumpsuit and her hands were cuffed together in her lap.
Lester pleaded guilty with a mental illness to aggravated murder, a first-degree felony. In the guilty plea, Lester admitted to taking her daughter, Lainey, to a small room in the basement of the home and stabbing her with a knife, killing her intentionally but while affected by a mental illness.
Because the plea considers mental illness, it prompted the judge to determine whether Lester did have a mental illness, which could lead to a sentence in the Utah State Hospital. Third District Judge Heather Brereton said she looked over the medical reports and although it is clear that Lester currently has a mental illness, the standard of proof had not been met to prove that she needed to be placed at the Utah State Hospital instead of prison.
A hearing had previously been scheduled to consider whether it could be proven that Lester's actions were due to a mental illness as the plea suggests, but her attorney Mike Sikora cancelled the hearing after discussing reports with a doctor and deciding there was not enough evidence to support a need for Lester to go to the Utah State Hospital. He said under her current medications, her mental health is stable while incarcerated.
During the month prior to the crime, Lester had made numerous internet searches regarding stab wounds, breaking a neck and broken ribs along with a diagram of a child's chest and news coverage of murder cases, according to the charges.
Lester's son was in the house when his sister was killed but was in another room.
Sikorda and deputy district attorney Kimberly Crandall agreed to recommend the same sentence to the judge, and Brereton agreed to order it.
Crandall said that the incident has been upsetting to Lester's mom, who is caring for her young grandson.
"It's a difficult case, your honor, but the state believes that this is an appropriate resolution that reflects what happened," Crandall said.
Lester's mom attended the sentencing but declined to make any comments. Lester also declined to make any comments.
