Quantico Woman Sentenced in Baby's Murder

A Quantico woman has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for fatally shaking and fracturing the skull of a 9-month-old girl that had been left in her care.

Amy Hunter pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder in the 2011 death of Chelsea Peterson. At the time, Hunter lived on Marine Corps Base Quantico with her husband and provided day care for Peterson, whose family also lived on base.

Court records indicate the baby died from violent shaking that resulted in the baby's head hitting a wall.

The plea deal requires the judge to impose a sentence somewhere between five and 19 years when Hunter is sentenced Thursday in federal court in Alexandria.

The defense is seeking the minimum sentence; prosecutors are seeking the maximum.