A Vassalboro man will spend 30 days behind bars for his role in the campfire death of his mother-in-law at a campground in China.

Travis Mitchell, 32, was initially charged with manslaughter, a felony, for the May 5, 2023 incident that killed Liza Bragg, 46, of Albion. That manslaughter charge was dismissed Thursday at the Capital Judicial Center as part of an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of reckless conduct and assault.

He was sentenced to 30 days in Kennebec County jail . He will also have to pay $425 in fines and fees.

Prosecutor Michael Madigan, an assistant district attorney in Kennebec County, said Mitchell attempted to start a campfire by taking a can of diesel fuel and putting it on a fire pit, to allow the diesel to trickle onto the damp wood to help it burn.

Instead, Madigan said, fumes from the can of diesel combusted, burning Bragg, who was standing next to it. Others at the campsite called 911. Bragg was taken to a local hospital then taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she died from her injuries, according to Shannon Moss, public information officer for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Madigan said with the incident taking place involving members of the same family, there were divergent opinions about the dismissal of the manslaughter charge.

Madigan said Bragg’s mother opposed the resolution of the case via the plea deal.

But he said everyone else in the family whom officials contacted believed Mitchell shouldn’t even have been prosecuted due to the nature of the incident.

Mitchell’s attorney, Walter McKee, said the incident at the campsite at D&R Campground on Pellerin Road in China was an accident.

“Accepting even the misdemeanor charges here was a bitter pill for Travis,” McKee said after the court hearing . “This was an accident, and had the case gone to trial there would have been overwhelming evidence that it was just that. But our criminal justice system is not perfect, and sometimes good people who correctly believe in their innocence have to face terrible options.”

Superior Court Justice Daniel Mitchell said the plea agreement, seemed like a reasonable resolution to the case.

“This was certainly a tragic event,” Justice Mitchell said in approving the resolution to the case. “This will allow everybody to move on at this point.”

Travis Mitchell will start his 30-day jail term April 15, as his sentence was stayed until then at McKee’s request, and over the objection of Madigan for the state. McKee said Mitchell has a snowplowing business and had contracts in place for this winter, so he sought to serve his sentence after the anticipated plowing season.