{"id":268668,"date":"2026-08-20T06:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T06:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/268668\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T06:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T06:02:11","slug":"berks-woman-pleads-guilty-but-mentally-ill-in-strangling-of-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/268668\/","title":{"rendered":"Berks woman pleads guilty but mentally ill in strangling of daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former Exeter Township woman pleaded guilty but mentally ill Tuesday in Berks County Court to third\u2011degree murder in the strangling death of her 3\u2011year\u2011old daughter four years ago.<\/p>\n

Solange J. White, 37, entered the plea as a non-jury trial before Judge Thomas G. Parisi was set to begin. White, who has been confined to a state psychiatric facility, had waived her right to a speedy trial multiple times while her attorneys sought additional time to prepare her defense.<\/p>\n

District Attorney John T. Adams said at the time of White\u2019s arrest<\/a> on June 30, 2022, that mental health issues would become a significant factor as the case progressed. He said Wednesday that White\u2019s family had long been concerned about her mental state and that she had been preparing to undergo professional treatment.<\/p>\n

According to prosecutors:<\/p>\n

Exeter police were dispatched at 3:40 a.m. following a 911 call from White\u2019s residence in the 100 block of West 46th Street. The caller reported that a 3\u2011year\u2011old girl was unconscious and that he believed White had strangled her.<\/p>\n

\"Police<\/p>\n

STEVEN HENSHAW \u2014 READING EAGLE<\/p>\n

Police protect the scene in the 100 block of West 46th Street in Exeter Township on June 30, 2022, hours after a child was found dead. (STEVEN HENSHAW READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n

Police interviewed a man identified in court papers only as Witness 1, who officials later said was the defendant\u2019s husband. He told investigators that he was awakened by White, who urged him to get a gun.<\/p>\n

When he asked, \u201cWhat have you done?\u201d he went to check on the children and found the victim unresponsive and blue in the face.<\/p>\n

People inside the home attempted lifesaving measures. Investigators saw marks and bruising on the child\u2019s neck consistent with strangulation. Officers found White crying at the front door when they arrived.<\/p>\n

After accepting the plea, Parisi convened the sentencing hearing. Following a long day of emotional testimony \u2014 four family members spoke for the prosecution, and several relatives and friends spoke for the defense \u2014 the judge adjourned without issuing a decision, said Meg McCallum, a supervising assistant district attorney.<\/p>\n

McCallum, who prosecuted the case, said numerous community members also submitted letters on White\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n

Parisi plans to review the testimony and reconvene the hearing Thursday to announce his ruling.<\/p>\n

The prosecution had been preparing for trial this week when White\u2019s attorney, Matthew S. Kopecki, informed McCallum and the judge that his client wished to change her plea after four years.<\/p>\n

Asked about the outcome, McCallum said: \u201cI think it\u2019s the right outcome. Based on everything I reviewed, guilty but mentally ill is the appropriate outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Help is available<\/p>\n

Call Berks County\u2019s 24-hour mental health crisis help line, 610-379-2007, if you are experiencing a crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A former Exeter Township woman pleaded guilty but mentally ill Tuesday in Berks County Court to third\u2011degree murder…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,202,1411,182,139,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-268668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-exeter-township","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}