Massachusetts mother in house of horrors case found not guilty of murder; convicted of assault on child, animal abuse
06/21/2019 11:59 am PDT
via WTIC
WORCESTER, Mass. (WTIC) -- A Massachusetts woman who lived in a squalid, vermin-infested home where authorities found the remains of three babies was cleared Thursday of second-degree murder.
Judge Janet Kenton-Walker said prosecutors did not prove that Erika Murray caused the death of one of the babies whom she had been charged with killing. But the judge found Murray guilty of animal cruelty and assault and battery on a child.
Kenton-Walker called the case “senseless” and “tragic,” but said she had to be guided by the evidence rather than her emotions.
Murray was arrested in 2014 after the babies' bodies were discovered inside closets of her filthy home in Blackstone, Massachusetts, about 50 miles southwest of Boston along the Rhode Island border.
Four living children were also removed from the home, which was filled with rodents, dead animals, dirty diapers and trash.
Murray's attorney said she suffered from mental illness and argued there's no evidence she caused the babies' deaths, suggesting they could have been stillborn.
She was initially charged in two of the babies' deaths, but the judge dropped one of the murder counts, saying prosecutors couldn't prove one of those babies was born alive.
Prosecutors had argued that Murray found the other baby blue and not breathing, causing its death by failing to call 911 or perform CPR.
Kenton-Walker said she agreed with prosecutors the baby was born alive, but said there was no evidence the baby would have lived if Murray had called for help.