Dayton (Ohio), May 21 (AP) A woman convicted of killing her month-old baby daughter in a microwave oven was spared the death penalty and sentenced today to life in prison without parole.

Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman sentenced China Arnold, 31, of Dayton.

Arnold was convicted last week of aggravated murder by the same jury that recommended her punishment. Jurors deliberated about six hours on Thursday and Friday.

Prosecutors say Arnold intentionally put 28-day-old Paris Talley in a microwave and turned it on after a fight with her boyfriend.

The defence argued that someone else was likely responsible for the baby's death.

Medical experts testified that the baby died quickly after her temperature reached up to 42 Celsius. They said she probably was in the microwave for more than two minutes.

"She died because she was overheated," said Dr Marcella Fierro, retired chief medical examiner for Virginia.

"She was cooked.