An appeals court yesterday unanimously reversed the manslaughter conviction of a woman accused of smothering her baby with a towel just after it was born in her Brooklyn home and disposing of the body in a garbage bag. Reviewing the weight of the evidence, the Appellate Division, Second Department, ruled yesterday that since Laura Sergio’s parents and two adult sisters were in the home the night her baby girl died, the prosecution had failed to adequately prove that she alone was responsible for the newborn’s death.
“All of these individuals, the defendant’s parents and two adult sisters, had equal and unfettered access to the infant on the evening the defendant gave birth to her,” the panel said in an unsigned decision in People v. Sergio, 3431/07. “The evidence did not establish what transpired during the more than five hours that elapsed between the time that the defendant was taken to the hospital and the time that the police arrived at the defendant’s home and discovered the infant’s body.” The court dismissed the indictment against Sergio.
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