A Red Lake woman has been sentenced to 15 months in prison following the death of her 7-year-old granddaughter in 2022.

According to evidence presented at trial, Sharon Rosebear, 64, intentionally deprived Jewel Sky Fineday of necessary food and health care over the course of the year. The evidence established that the girl died in 2022 from the combined effects of starvation and infection.

Rosebear’s co-defendant and the girl’s 42-year-old father, Julius Fineday Sr., pleaded guilty to one count of felony child neglect causing the death of a child and was sentenced to five years in prison in July.

The trial included evidence that the girl died at the same weight she had been nearly three years earlier and that while Rosebear was aware of the victim’s severe lice infestation, Rosebear responded by keeping the child isolated rather than seeking medical attention.

In April, Rosebear was convicted of  felony child neglect following a six-day trial in U.S. District Court. She was sentenced Tuesday Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz.

In handing down the sentence, Schiltz commented, “One of the most tragic things about (the child’s) death is that it was so easily preventable … day after day, week after week, month after month, Ms. Rosebear watched as the child slowly starved to death.”

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department.

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