MARION COUNTY — A 24-year-old Salem woman was sentenced today in Marion County Court to at least 45 years in prison on two counts first-degree murder for the 2015 smothering death of her 3-month old infant daughter.

Christina Thomason was sentenced to 45 years on each of two counts first-degree murder. According to Marion County State’s Attorney Matt Wilzbach, an attempted escape charge against Thomason is still pending; if she is convicted on that charge the sentences for first-degree murder will have to be served consecutively, adding up to at least 90 years in prison.

She gave no statement to the court prior to sentencing and will have to serve 100 percent of her sentence, to be followed by 3-years mandatory supervised release upon completion of her prison term.

Thomason was arrested in March 2015, after the Child Death Review Task Force determined her initial story about how her daughter Aribella had died did not match the evidence.

During a second interview, Thomason ultimately acknowledged Aribella had been crying, and when she couldn’t get her to stop crying she put the baby in the bassinet, covered her up with several blankets, and made sure her face, mouth and nose were covered.

Thomason then spent 10 to 15 minutes on the stool in the bathroom until she heard the baby had stopped crying. She then proceeded to take a 35 minute shower,  got her 2-year-old daughter up, checked on the baby and calmly called 9-1-1.

Further evidence revealed at Thomason’s trial revealed she had also given Aribella a lethal dose of antihistamine that had been prescribed to the 2-year-old.

Thomason was charged with two counts first-degree murder in connection with Aribella’s death and was ultimately found guilty by a Marion County jury earlier this year.

A sentencing hearing early last month had been postponed until today.

She had remained in the Marion County Jail since her March 2015 arrest, with bail set at $1 million. Just weeks before her trial, Thomason was charged with attempted escape and criminal damage to government owned property, after she and two other jail inmates allegedly attempted to tear out a vent in the jail.