According to court records, Stotelmyer, 26, told police she gave birth in her bathtub on Sept. 21, 2002, cut the umbilical cord with scissors, and left the baby in the tub with the water running.
Then, police said, Stotelmyer wrapped her baby in a wet towel and put him in a plastic bag. Police found that bag inside a larger plastic garbage bag that also contained trash.
An autopsy indicated the baby died of asphyxia.
During Tuesday's hour-long sentencing hearing in Washington County Circuit Court, a psychiatrist testified that Stotelmyer has a number of problems.
Dr. Neil Blumberg, a Baltimore-based psychiatrist, testified Tuesday that he interviewed Stotelmyer twice for a total of nearly five hours, after which he diagnosed her as having several disorders, including severe depression, post traumatic stress disorder, and alcohol and drug dependency.
Blumberg said Stotelmyer's disorders stemmed from a combination of a family history of psychological disorders and her personal experiences.
In addition to having several family members who suffered from various psychological illnesses, Stotelmyer's father died when she was 8 years old, and her mother, who was an alcoholic, died in a fire when Stotelmyer was 15, Blumberg said.
Even while her mother was alive, "her mother was just not there to provide any adequate parenting," Blumberg said, and there was "almost an encouragement to engage in substance abuse with her" mother.
Stotelmyer became sexually active when she was 12, which also was when she began using marijuana, Blumberg said. She was drinking by 13, and drank even more heavily after her mother's death, he said.
Also after her mother's death, Stotelmyer's boyfriend died in a swimming accident, Blumberg said.
Stotelmyer had given birth three other times, and one of those children died of sudden infant death syndrome, he said.
All of the losses led to Stotelmyer blocking out things that were most depressing to her, including the pending birth of her fourth child, Blumberg said.
On Sept. 21, 2002, Stotelmyer went to the bathroom after a night of drinking and found blood in the bathtub, which turned out to be her own.
She had given birth to the boy, Blumberg said, but "she said she just blocked it out of her mind. ... She didn't even view it as a child in the tub."
She put the infant in a trash bag "and tried to forget about what happened," he said.
"I've evaluated thousands of victims. This is probably the top 10 (worst), at least of my experience. ... How she avoided becoming psychotic is more amazing than anything," Blumberg said.
Assistant Washington County State's Attorney Gina Cirincion, who prosecuted the case, said she did not dispute Blumberg's diagnosis, but "the reality is that a child is dead."
"I will tell you that the child was never given a name," Cirincion said. Forensic examiners could refer to the child only as Baby Boy Stotelmyer, she said.
"Never in the time that she was pregnant did she give any indication that this child was going to be cared for," Cirincion said.
Prompted by her attorney, Carl Creeden, Stotelmyer addressed the court quietly, her slight frame trembling as she spoke.
"I want to apologize to the court and to my children at home, that I haven't been there for," Stotelmyer said.
While she said she felt that she had improved as a result of treatment she received at the Washington County Detention Center, "I know I have a lot of things I need to work on. ... I want to be able to do better and think things through more clearly."
Washington County Circuit Judge Frederick C. Wright III sentenced Stotelmyer immediately after her comments.
"You killed a life. Now, in taking a life, there are consequences," Wright said in a level voice.
"Getting yourself to the point that you were in when you decided to place this ... (child) into a grocery bag, tie it shut, place it in another black trash bag with other trash, that's a decision that you make. ...
"You need long-term separation and treatment in order to unravel the package that was tied together Sept. the 21st, 2002," Wright said.
Wright said he would recommend her placement at the Patuxent Institution for Women in Jessup, Md.
Because Stotelmyer has already been jailed for a year, she faces a maximum of nine years left to serve. Creeden and Cirincion said it was likely she would serve less time because of automatic credits for good behavior or participation in in-prison programs.
