Brooklyn Park woman sentenced to over 8 years in prison for the death of 8-year old son

A Brooklyn Park woman was sentenced Tuesday to over eight years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter charges in connection to the death of her 8-year-old son.

Tasha Tokina Tennin, 39, entered a guilty plea in December 2021 for first-degree manslaughter.

Court records show a judge sentenced Tennin to 103 months, or just over 8½ years in prison, at the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Shakopee. Tennin will get credit for 17 days of time served.

Tennin locked her son inside a cold garage overnight in February 2018. The temperature that night was below zero degrees Fahrenheit.

Tennin called 911 on Feb. 1, 2018, to report her son was unresponsive, and first responders found him cold to the touch and without a pulse.

The criminal complaint described his body as “ice cold,” like he was outside. Tennin’s 8-year-old son was pronounced dead that morning.

A grand jury indicted her on one count of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree manslaughter in 2020.

Tennin entered a plea of not guilty but changed her plea in December 2021. Records show the first-degree murder charge was dismissed.