Hillary Tyler, 36, formerly of Mulhall, Oklahoma, and now living in Wyoming, pleaded guilty Tuesday to child endangerment causing serious injury and first-degree criminal mischief, both class C felonies, and abuse of a corpse, a class D felony.

After accepting the guilty pleas, District Court Judge James McGlynn promptly sentenced Tyler to serve up to 20 years in prison.

In Webster County District Court, under questioning from her attorney, Neven Mulholland, of Fort Dodge, Tyler admitted that on Sept. 19, 2011, she gave birth to a baby boy in a room at the Super 8, 3755 Fifth Ave. S. After giving birth, Tyler admitted that she did not seek any medical treatment for the child, and put him in the hotel room’s bathtub.

Tyler also said she put the baby’s body in a waste basket in the hotel room.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Rodney Cyphers, the father of Hillary Tyler's baby boy, delivers his victim impact statement in Webster County District Court Tuesday.

Additionally, she caused damage to the hotel room that totaled more than $10,000, she said.

Tyler’s guilty pleas came the same day her re-trial was set to begin in the case.

In February 2013, a Webster County jury convicted Tyler of second-degree murder.

However, in June 2015 the Iowa Supreme Court overturned her conviction and ordered a new trial on the grounds that Jonathan Thompson, associate state medical examiner, should not have testified about how or why the baby died.

In his testimony, Thompson said that the autopsy could not determine the cause or manner of the newborn’s death. However, he ruled it a homicide caused by drowning after viewing Tyler’s interview with an Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent during which, after a period of questioning, she said the baby cried after repeatedly denying that it had.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Hillary Tyler, right, is led out of the courtroom by Webster County Jailer Ashley Guthrie following Tyler's plea and sentencing hearing Tuesday.

The Supreme Court, in its decision, said Thompson should not have testified “because the medical examiner based his opinions primarily, if not exclusively, on Tyler’s inconsistent and uncorroborated statements to the police as opposed to objective, scientific, or medical evidence.”

After pleading guilty Tuesday, Tyler indicated that she wanted to proceed immediately to sentencing.

Before being sentenced, Rodney Cyphers, the baby’s father, took the stand to deliver a victim impact statement.

Cyphers, of Mulhall, Oklahoma, told Tyler that she murdered his son.

“You aren’t crying. You’re not sorry for anything. You’re sorry you’re going back to jail, that’s what you’re sorry for,” he said.

“You’re a monster,” he continued. “And you and your family make you look like a little whipped puppy dog running around here, and you’re not. You’re a murderer. That’s what you are.”

Before leaving the stand, Cyphers turned to McGlynn.

“Give her all you can give her,” he told the judge.

Tyler also made a brief statement before her sentencing. She spoke directly to Cyphers and his family.

“I just want to say that I’m very, very sorry for what happened,” Tyler said. “I’m sorry about the whole situation.”

Mulholland then spoke to the judge about what Tyler is doing today.

After her new trial was ordered, Tyler posted bond and moved to Wyoming with her family. Mulholland said Tyler has a job and sees a counselor.

“She has been undergoing counseling on a full-time basis,” Mulholland said. “She sees a family counselor every two weeks.”

Ever since her release, Mulholland said Tyler has obeyed the law and has not gotten into any trouble. He hoped McGlynn would take that into consideration in his sentencing, he said.

But McGlynn sentenced Tyler to the maximum possible prison sentence, following the recommendation of the plea agreement.

She must serve 10 years in prison for the child endangerment causing serious injury charge, and another 10 years in prison for the first-degree criminal mischief charge. Those sentences are to be served consecutively.

Tyler must also serve five years in prison on the abuse of a corpse charge. That sentence is to be served at the same time as the prison sentences for the other two charges.

The result of those three sentences is that Tyler will serve a maximum of 20 years in prison.

McGlynn said the case is tragic, adding that there are no winners, only losers.

“An innocent child could be in kindergarten right now,” McGlynn said. “It’s a sad situation. All we can do at this point is hope to move forward.”

When the hearing ended, Tyler was taken into police custody and brought to the Webster County Jail for processing.

She will serve her sentence at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville.

Cyphers said all he wants is to seek justice for his son. He wishes Tyler’s prison sentence was longer, he said.

“I’m happy that she’s going back to prison, but I think she should be in there for life so she doesn’t have another opportunity to harm another innocent baby,” Cyphers said. “Or anyone else, for that matter.”

Now that Tyler has been sentenced, Cyphers said he can look forward to the future.

“I’ll be getting married, probably in May,” he said, “and we have a 4-month-old baby girl.”

He and his family want to move on with their lives, he said.

“We have a great life, actually.”

Webster County Attorney Jennifer Benson said the plea agreement provided a “just result,” because Tyler admitted in court that she did not seek medical attention for her newborn baby and threw him away in a trash can.

“I hope that the plea agreement brings the family of Baby Tyler a sense of justice and closure,” she said.

The state was also represented by Laura Roan, assistant Iowa attorney general. Tyler’s defense team included Jim Kramer, of Fort Dodge.

Tyler and Cyphers arrived in Fort Dodge from Oklahoma in September 2011 for temporary work. During the 2013 trial, Cyphers said that Tyler hid her pregnancy from him and would tell him she was suffering from polyps on her uterus and “female issues.”