GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- A Mesa County teenager accused of killing her newborn baby has pleaded guilty to a charge of child abuse resulting in death.

Cheyenne Corbett, 18, faces 16 to 48 years in prison when she's sentenced on Dec. 14.

Corbett entered her plea Tuesday morning in a Grand Junction courtroom. She had been charged with first-degree murder and child abuse in July 2006.

Corbett told investigators at the time that she gave birth in the shower of her Fruitvail home but didn't see the baby girl move, or open her eyes, according to an arrest affidavit. Corbett said she cleaned up the bathroom, but realized her mother would have to take her to a hospital after she bled through several changes of clothes.

Medical personnel at St. Mary's Hospital called police after determining Corbett had given birth, which she denied. Grand Junction Police were sent to her home to look for a missing child.

Corbett later told investigators said she hid the baby in the entertainment center cabinet with the intention of telling hospital workers where the baby was so they could find and help her.

An autopsy revealed the baby was born alive and died from asphyxiation.

Corbett was a Palisade High School student at the time she gave birth.

A public defender previously entered a not guilty plea on Corbett's behalf in February, but she withdrew it in June.

Prosecutors dropped the first-degree murder charge in exchange for Corbett's guilty plea.