More from Tricia BishopToday Melanie Blevins, 23, of Westminster MD, pled guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter before Judge John P. Miller. Judge Miller sentenced Blevins to 10 years suspend all but time served (1 day), with 5 years supervised probation. Conditions of probation include Blevins performing a minimum of 25 hours of community service with Habitat for Humanity each month for 3 years totaling 900 hours. Judge Miller told Blevins she also must continue in therapy.
The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Blevins January 9, 2009 for first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. Blevins plead to the following facts of the case. On Saturday, October 4, 2008, Blevins went to Union Memorial Hospital for treatment of urinary pain. Following an examination, the treating physician reported to police that Blevins had just given birth hours before arriving to the emergency room for care.
Blevins claimed she delivered a stillborn following an undiagnosed pregnancy. The newborn was discovered in a dumpster inside a plastic trash bag behind 2640 St. Paul Street, St. Johns United Methodist Church. The medical examiner determined the child was born alive and took one breath. The medical examiner could not testify to a degree of medical certainty that the baby took more than one live breath.
Quality article on neonaticide from The New York Times' Steven Pinker
