PITTSBURGH — A West Virginia woman convicted of first-degree murder in the drowning of her 2-year-old son in a Pittsburgh-area hotel bathtub has been sentenced to life in prison.

The sentence was mandatory given Sharon Flanagan’s conviction in September, so the 35-year-old woman didn’t call any witnesses or make any statements at Monday’s sentencing.

But her ex-husband had plenty to say.

“I cannot fully express my joy that this horrible person who killed my son will never hurt another child,” Steven W. Flanagan told Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning.

Flanagan was convicted Sept. 20 after county prosecutors presented evidence that Sharon Flanagan drowned the couple’s son, Steven T. Flanagan, at a hotel during a trip when she allegedly had planned to visit a Pittsburgh-area water park about 200 miles from her home in Inwood, W.Va.

Deputy District Attorney Lisa Pellegrini had argued Flanagan drowned the boy to get back at her husband after he was awarded primary custody when the couple separated months before.

Flanagan at first told detectives that when she realized her son wasn’t breathing she was unable to lift him out of the tub because he was stuck or held face down by some strange force during the July 2012 stay at a hotel.

Investigators later determined Flanagan had performed several online searches in the days before the boy’s death that referenced child drowning, including queries for “common fatal toddler accidents,” “why is Casey Anthony so popular?” and “why are Americans obsessed with Casey Anthony?”