A St. Joseph County mother at the center of a case that shocked Michigan has now been sentenced for the death of her 2-year-old daughter, closing her case that many still struggle to understand.
Paige Bohne, 21, was sentenced in St. Joseph County Circuit Court to 19 to 45 years in prison after pleading no contest to first-degree child abuse and assault in the death of her daughter, Octavia. As part of that plea agreement, open murder and conspiracy charges were dismissed, a decision that continues to draw disbelief given the circumstances of the child’s death.
Authorities were first called on November 7, 2024, to a home in the Memory Lane Mobile Home Park in Sturgis Township, where Octavia was found unresponsive. Despite life-saving efforts, the toddler was pronounced dead at the scene. Due to suspicious circumstances, the St. Joseph County Major Crimes Task Force was activated, and Bohne was initially arrested on involuntary manslaughter, later upgraded to open murder, for which she was denied bond and held in jail.
In a stunning turn, prosecutors later agreed to a plea deal allowing Bohne to avoid a murder trial by pleading no contest to child abuse-related charges. Sentencing had been scheduled for August 29, but was adjourned amid concerns that Bohne may not have been fully complying with the terms of her agreement, including a reported requirement that she provide truthful testimony against another individual believed to be connected to the case.
That cooperation component is now believed to be a key reason the murder charge was ultimately dropped, suggesting prosecutors may still be pursuing additional accountability for Octavia’s death beyond Bohne herself.
A no contest plea does not require an admission of guilt, but it carries the same weight as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes. While the sentence ensures Bohne will spend decades in prison, many remain stunned that a case which began as open murder ended without a murder conviction.
To date, no official cause of death has been publicly released, and prosecutors have not detailed the evidence underlying the original murder charge or the full scope of the ongoing investigation.
What is clear is this: A 2-year-old child is dead, a mother will spend much of her adult life behind bars, and the full story of what happened to Octavia may still not be finished.