Prime & O'Brien, LLP Articles 50-Year Prison Sentence for Infant’s Murder

50-Year Prison Sentence for Infant’s Murder

By Prime & O’Brien, LLP  Apr. 17, 2013 5:46p

A northern Illinois woman, K.L.S., was given a 50-year prison sentence recently for the death of her newborn daughter. The woman gave birth to the infant in secret at the end of 2004 and then abandoned the baby on a rural road where it froze to death. The baby became known as "Baby Crystal" in the Rockford, Illinois area. The woman pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder in February of this year after DNA tests proved that she was the infant's mother with a 99.96 percent certainty. At the time of the woman's trial, investigators also submitted data to the court about the remains of two other infants that were found in the trunk of her car. Apparently, K.L.S. was a cocaine user as the baby was found to have cocaine in her system as well as hepatitis, which is common in addicts who use needles.

To combat the problem of abandoned infants, the state of Illinois enacted the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act in 2001, which allows distressed parents to anonymously hand over newborns to certain facilities without risk of civil or criminal penalties. Newborns can be relinquished to hospitals, fire stations, emergency medical facilities, and police stations. In New York, parents may relinquish infants to hospitals within five days of the child's birth without legal repercussions. New York parents who leave a child in a public place with the intention of abandoning the child are charged with a Class E felony which carries a penalty of three to four years in a state prison.

Criminal Defense Attorney in Long Island, New York

Murder, as in the case above, is probably the most serious of all criminal charges that an individual will face. Murder generally involves a willful and intended act as opposed to manslaughter which is often the result of an accident. Those convicted of murder charges may be sentenced to long-term or lifelong prison sentences or the death penalty. With such high stakes, it is imperative to seek experienced and aggressive legal representation.

The criminal defense firm of Prime & O'Brien, based on Long Island, represents clients in all types of criminal cases, from drunk driving to drug possession, theft crimes, sex crimes, white collar crimes, and more. The firm handles both state and federal criminal cases and has a long history of achieving favorable results. The firm's attorneys have nearly 20 years of experience as tough and knowledgeable litigators. Learn more about how an attorney at the firm can help you by contacting their offices or visit www.longislanddefensefirm.com.

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