St. Paul woman sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to murdering daughter

Krystal Frasier KSTP

Ciashia Lee Credit: Ramsey County Jail

A St. Paul woman who pleaded guilty last month to murdering her two-year-old daughter last year has learned her fate.

Online court records show 30-year-old Ciashia Lee has been sentenced to 216 months (18 years) in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder without intent.

Documents add she will receive credit for the 516 days she has already served, and also pay restitution of $7,500.

As previously reported, police were called to a home on the 1000 block of Third Street in St. Paul in January 2021 around 2:30 a.m.

Police said a man at the scene thought his 2-year-old daughter was dead on the back porch. Officers immediately went to the porch and found 2-year-old Melody Vang unconscious and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene and was reported as the city’s first homicide of 2021.

During an interview with police, Lee told investigators that she had lost her temper and hit the child multiple times, according to the complaint.