Colorado mother sentenced to 36 years in prison for role in toddler's death by fentanyl ingestion

A Colorado mother who was convicted of felony child abuse resulting in death was sentenced to 36 years in prison and three years of parole on Wednesday for the death of her 22-month-old son in 2022.

Hanna Gilmour, 30, was convicted by a Douglas County jury in September, three years after her son, Layton, died of fentanyl ingestion at her Littleton apartment. Sentencing guidelines called for a possible sentence of 16 to 48 years.

"Just seeing how many people here shows me how loved Layton was," Douglas County Judge Ryan Stuart said at the hearing. "He was gone way too soon."

He said he has no doubt that Gilmour loved her son or loves her other child, a daughter.

"You are not a monster, but you are horribly selfish," he said. Citing evidence presented at trial, Stuart said that Gilmour found a pill in Layton's mouth, took it out, and failed to take accountability for his death at the time.

Gilmour was arrested after Layton's father came to her apartment to pick their son up for a custody exchange in November 2022 and said their son, Layton, "didn't look right." Layton's father, Jacob Birkbeck, called 911, and first responders pronounced Layton dead after attempting CPR.

Investigators said at the time that Gilmour and her boyfriend's apartment was "littered" with drugs, including cocaine, mushrooms, marijuana, and fentanyl. They believe Layton was crawling around and ingested fentanyl that was on the floor.

Prosecutors and the family of Layton asked the judge for the maximum possible sentence.

"I performed CPR on my sweet grandbaby's tiny body," Jennifer Birkbeck, Layton's paternal grandmother, said at the sentencing hearing on Wednesday. "The words describing such loss haven't been invented yet."

She went on to say, "we can speculate, but we'll never know all that he could've accomplished."

Gilmour cried from her seat multiple times throughout the hearing.

Prosecutors refuted the defense's argument that this wasn't a violent crime, saying that years of subjecting a child to emotional abuse and substance ingestion is violence.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Danielle Jaramillo said, "who's to say whose life means more?"

She went on to say that Gilmour never went to substance abuse classes and continued abusing cocaine, alcohol, and other substances after her son's death.

Gilmour's mother and defense attorney sought the minimum mandatory sentence of 16 years in prison.

"She is undoubtedly a mother who lost something that was dear to her," Cameron Bedard, an attorney with the Rights and Liberties Law Firm, said.

"This case has been absolutely devastating to everyone involved," he said, arguing that she wasn't a violent person or a monster. "She was a young woman who was struggling with substance abuse."

Gilmour's mother, who wasn't named in court, said, in part, at the hearing, "although she has been negatively portrayed" in the courtroom over the past several years, "she was not an uncaring mother."

Gilmour herself spoke through tears at the hearing, pausing several times to wipe her nose.

"I used to think I was a pretty good mom," she said. "My kids were fed, bathed, happy, never missed an appointment."

She went on to describe herself as "a trainwreck."

"I was tired, worn down, alone, isolated, overworked," she said. "Somewhere between the birth of my daughter and the birth of Layton, I let my guard down."

Gilmour has been in jail since her conviction, during which time, she said, she's been able to soberly reflect.

"Since I've been incarcerated, I've been forced to confront the feelings that drugs helped me avoid," she said.  "I didn't deserve such a perfect child," going on to say she knows she "failed Layton during his short life."

She pleaded with the judge to not only let her see her family and Layton's burial place as soon as the law allowed, but to be able to be there for her daughter.

"I don't know when I'll see his grave again," she said. "Please let me show my daughter the other side of failure."

"Please let me show my daughter that I'm someone she can depend on and be proud of," she continued.

Gilmour also has an open case in Garfield County from June 2025, where she faces charges of driving under the influence and violation of a civil protection order. She's due back in court for that case on Dec. 1.