Conviction Reversed For Woman Whose Daughter Ate Pill, Died

LANSING (WWJ/AP) - The Michigan appeals court has overturned the child abuse conviction of a woman whose 11-month-old daughter died from eating a morphine pill.

The court issued two opinions Wednesday reversing the conviction and prison sentence of Kimberly Murphy in connection with the October 2013 death of Trinity Murphy, The Macomb Daily reported.

One ruling says the verdict wasn't supported by sufficient evidence. Another opinion says the Sterling Heights woman wasn't found to be reckless.

Prosecutors had argued she committed the "reckless act" of maintaining an extremely messy house that allowed the child to ingest the pill that was intended for her recently deceased grandmother.

Murphy's husband Harold Murphy also was convicted of second-degree child abuse and was sentenced last year to a minimum of 2 ½ years in prison. He didn't appeal.

Trinity's grandmother, who had lived in the Sterling Heights house, died of cancer about two weeks before the child found the pill. Kimberly Murphy told police it was "very likely" her mother had dropped the pill on the floor where Trinity later found it.

Attorneys for the Murphys have said that no one knows how the child got the pill. Nijad Mehenna, attorney for Kimberly Murphy, said pills were found in a container on a closet shelf several feet off the floor.

"There is no testimony anybody observed anybody giving Trinity that pill or saw Trinity Murphy consume that pill," Mehenna said. "If the pills were anywhere within reach of an 11-month-old child, that's a reckless act. … We don't have that whatsoever in this particular case."

The Murphys also lost their parental rights of their four other children following a trial before different judge.

© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.