Charge Dropped Against Mom Accused Of Killing Newborn
FORT LAUDERDALE – (CBSMiami) – Prosecutors dropped a murder charge Tuesday against an Oakland Park woman accused of killing her newborn.
In July of 2007, Lindsey Scott, 27, was accused of killing her baby girl, putting the baby in a bag and tossing the bag in a trash can.
Prosecutors announced Tuesday they would not seek the murder charge because three doctors "felt this is a death that could have occurred during the birthing process and there was not enough evidence to state to any degree of medical certainty that it did not occur in that manner," according to the Broward State Attorney's close-out memo.
Prosecutors said the doctors decided that, "they would have written this case up as an 'undetermined' manner of death, rather than a 'homicide.'"
That conclusion contradicted medical examiner, Dr. Reinhard Motte who had originally testified that the child was alive after birth. Dr. Motte ruled the death a homicide.
Scott's defense lawyer David Bogenschutz said the prosecutor on the case made the right decision to review the initial medical examiner finding and to ultimately, dismiss the murder chrge.
"(The prosecutor) looked at it and said this is a different case today than it was before and now she had a doubt as to whether or not it was a homicide," Bogenschutz said. "As a result, this is the result."
Scott said the child was stillborn upon birth. The State Attorney's Office memo reiterates that both of Scott's parents saw their daughter gaining weight in the months before the incident however Scott denied being pregnant.
Scott faced life in prison on the first-degree murder charge. She was out on $100,000 bond since August 2007.
Bogenschutz said Scott, who wept outside the courtroom after the decision was announced, plans to move forward with her life.
"The first time I met Lindsey Scott I looked at her and said this girl is not a murderer," Bogenschutz. "Finally, before Christmas the state came to the same conclusion."
Neither Scott nor her family wanted to speak with reporters.
