Court ordera retrial in Edmunds case SBS

Court orders new trial in Wis. 'shaken baby syndrome' case





By RYAN J. FOLEY

Thursday, January 31, 2008 10:46 AM CST

MADISON, Wis. - An appeals court granted a new trial Thursday to a woman imprisoned for shaking a baby to death, saying new research into "shaken baby syndrome" might prove her innocence.

Audrey Edmunds was charged with first-degree reckless homicide following the 1995 death of a 7-month-old girl, Natalie Beard, that she was baby-sitting. She was convicted in 1996 and later sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Edmunds, a 46-year-old former housewife, has always professed her innocence. In her appeal, she argued that recent developments in medical research into "shaken baby syndrome" cast doubt on her conviction.

The District 4 Court of Appeals agreed Edmunds has presented enough new evidence to win a new trial.

A "significant and legitimate debate" has developed over issues such as whether infants can die through shaking alone and whether other causes can create symptoms similar to those associated with shaken baby syndrome, the court said.






"The main issue at trial was the cause of Natalie's injuries, and new medical testimony presents an alternate theory for the source of those injuries," Judge Charles Dykman wrote for the three-judge panel.

A jury should weigh the competing opinions of medical experts in deciding the case, Dykman said.

"There is a reasonable probability that a jury, looking at both the new medical testimony and the old medical testimony, would have a reasonable doubt as to Edmunds's guilt," he wrote.

Keith Findley, a Wisconsin Innocence Project lawyer who is representing Edmunds, called on prosecutors to drop the case and release his client from a state prison in Waupun.

"I would hope they would, after all this time and given there really is no evidence against Audrey Edmunds other than this now very dubious scientific evidence," he said.

Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard said the state first has to decide whether to appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He said prosecutors weren't ready to say whether they would retry the case or drop it.

A judge denied her request last year after hearing from experts from both sides. He said the case against Edmunds remained convincing.

The baby appeared healthy when dropped off at Edmunds' in-home day care on Oct. 16, 1995. The baby began gasping and choking after drinking formula. After emergency personnel arrived, her pulse and respiration stopped.

A pathologist testified at Edmunds' trial that Natalie died of shaken baby syndrome. Prosecution experts at last year's hearing said the baby's injuries indicate she suffered severe trauma.

But Edmunds' lawyers claim she could have died from a number of other causes, such as choking on formula, seizures or an infection.

Findley said the ruling was among the first from a state appellate court to recognize the new research and reverse a conviction. At the time of Edmunds' 1996 trial, doctors who raised such questions were viewed as extremists, he said. Now, they are in the mainstream.

"It's an enormous decision for Audrey, but I also think it's absolutely the right decision," Findley said. "It's the just outcome in this case."

A service of the Associated Press(AP)