WHEELING — The ex-wife of the man convicted of murdering a Mozart woman pleaded guilty to child neglect Friday morning.

Amanda Allison, formerly Amanda Carman, pleaded guilty before Circuit Judge David Sims to gross child neglect creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death in violation of the 3-year-old son of Anorah Schostag. Schostag was murdered by Allison’s ex-husband Will Carman.

As part of a plea agreement, a murder charge against Allison was dismissed.

Allison could face one to five years in prison along with a $1,000 to $3,000 fine for the endangerment of Schostag’s child on the night of his mother’s murder. The sentencing will be at Sims’ discretion.

After the four-day murder trial concluding on Aug. 6, Will Carman was found guilty of first-degree murder, facing a life sentence for the death of Anorah Schostag. He was also found guilty of first-degree robbery with a firearm and gross child neglect, creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death to a child by the jury.

Ohio County Prosecutor Shawn Turak described to Sims during the plea hearing that Allison was guilty of child neglect due to her either “holding hands with or being right next to” Schostag’s son while his mother was stabbed to death by Carman.

“Allison and Schostag’s 3-year-old child were within a foot of Carman when he pulled out a knife and proceeded to stab Schostag,” explained Turak. “Thereby, (the child) was exposed to the deadly weapons that were wielded by Mr. Carman, placing him at serious risk of bodily injury or death.”

Prior to the murder, Allison had been close friends with Schostag, living at her residence with Schostag and her son for “many, many months,” Turak said. Allison admitted in an interview with Wheeling Police after the murder that Allison was aware of her ex-husband’s plans to try and rob Schostag while she lived at Schostag’s residence.

“Allison informed the police in an interview that she did not believe Mr. Carman was serious about robbing Schostag,” added Turak. “She also purchased the magazine for the firearm found and recovered in Schostag’s home.”

During Carman’s murder trial, it was revealed that he stole the weapon from his aunt and uncle’s home.

Allison also told officers that on the day of Schostag’s murder, Carman was in the house “for hours,” with no calls made by anyone inside to summon help. In interviews, she described Carman having “two knives tucked into the waistband of his shorts,” which were entered into evidence by the prosecution at the murder trial.

Allison has been on house arrest since Jan. 14, 2022, with the court deciding whether her time spent on house arrest will be credited to her jail time at her sentencing.

“The state of West Virginia will urge the court not to give her credit for that time,” said Turak. “Instead, they would like her to be placed in the custody of the Department of Corrections for the sentence of no less than one year and no more than five years.”

When Sims asked whether the plea was in their client’s best interest, Allison’s attorney, Paul Harris, confirmed it was.

Harris also told Sims that the plea was “the best result under the circumstances to alleviate the possibility of conviction.”

Sims accepted the plea agreement, saying that the court will now conduct a pre-sentence investigation for the charges that will “probably take a couple of weeks” to be completed. Once the investigation is complete, the court will reconvene for Allison’s sentencing.

While Schostag’s son and adoptive parents were not present during the hearing, Schostag’s mother was in court and was moved to tears during the proceedings.