BANGOR (AP) – A Dexter woman who set fire to the home where her sister and the toddler she was baby-sitting were slain will be spending two months behind bars.

Melanie Bragg, 39, who pleaded no contest last week to arson, was sentenced Tuesday in Penobscot County Superior Court to six years with all but 60 days suspended. She could have received up to 40 years.

The circumstances surrounding the case and a lack of prior criminal history led to a plea agreement between Deputy District Attorney Michael Roberts and defense lawyer Armanda Day.

“The fire was set at a time when her judgment was impaired – she was clearly emotionally distressed,” Day told Justice Nancy Mills.

Roberts agreed that the case involved a “unique situation.”

The fire followed a domestic dispute at the Church Street home that Bragg shared with Alan LaFountain, her longtime boyfriend.

Lafountain told the court that “jail wouldn’t do her any good,” and that Bragg needed counseling.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about an hour and there were no reports of injuries.

Bragg’s sister, Mindy Gould, 20, and 21-month-old Treven Cunningham were shot in the back of the head execution-style at the home on Dec. 3, 1999. Bragg discovered the bodies.

Gould had sought refuge with her sister a few weeks after ending a relationship with Jeffrey Cookson, 41, formerly of New Gloucester, who is serving two life sentences for the murders.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-02-02-05 0847EST

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