Elko man pleads guilty to toddler’s murder

Friday, Aug. 14, 1998 | 10:07 a.m.

Mark Anthony Hanson, 32, entered the plea before Elko District Judge Jack Ames in the January death of young Tamara Smart.

Under the plea agreement reached Tuesday, prosecutors will recommend the minimum sentence of 50 years in prison, Elko County Deputy District Attorney Rob Lowe said.

In addition, they will drop felony abuse charges against the child's mother, Shawna Lee Smart Hanson, Lowe told the Elko Daily Free Press.

Tamara Smart was flown from Elko General Hospital to Primary Children's Hospital Jan. 18 with head injuries and died the next day.

Hanson told police at the time the child fell down a flight of stairs, but a Salt Lake City doctor said the injury was caused by blows to her head.

Police also found a witness who reported hearing three loud thuds shortly before Smart was taken to the hospital. Police confiscated Hanson's couch and found hair and skin from Smart's scalp on the couch.

The toddler's mother was at work at the time of the incident.

Hanson is set to be sentenced Sept. 28 and faces as much as life in prison without parole. However, if the judge follows prosecutors' recommendation, he would be eligible for parole after 20 years.