CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) _ The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld the 35-year neglect sentence for a Gary woman in the death of a stepson who was starved, beaten and kept in a dog cage.
 
The Times of Munster reports the appeals panel decided 3-0 Wednesday to reject Kimberly Kubina's claims including the judge ignored the woman's mental illness and remorse and failed to consider her suffering as a victim of spousal abuse.
 
Court records indicate the now 48-year-old Kubina witnessed husband Riley Choate's attacks and torment upon his 13-year-old son, Christian, but never informed police or tried to obtain medical help for the boy. The boy's body was recovered from a shallow grave in May 2011, more than two years after his death. Riley Choate is serving an 80-year sentence.