TRAGIC

Mom Accused of Killing Three Babies Cleared of Murder

Erika Murray, whose vermin-infested home had the remains of three babies, was convicted of lesser charges.

A Massachusetts mom accused of killing three babies, whose remains were found insider her vermin-infested home, was found not guilty of second-degree murder on Thursday. Judge Janet Kenton-Walker said prosecutors did not prove Erika Murray, 35, killed one of the three babies. She’d been accused of killing the infants and hiding them in a closet inside her home, which was filled with dead animals, dirty diapers, and trash. Murray, however, was convicted of lesser charges, including assault and battery on a child and animal cruelty. “Regardless of how disturbing the facts surrounding this case are to the community at large and to me as a parent, I cannot take into account those feelings,” Kenton-Walker said on Thursday, adding that the prosecution did not successfully prove cause of death.

Murray was arrested in 2014 after the babies’ bodies were discovered inside her Blackstone, Mass., home about an hour outside of Boston. Four living children were also removed from the home. Prosecutors allege Murray killed or severely neglected her unwanted younger children. The 35-year-old’s attorney, Keith Halpern, argued in court that Murray suffered from mental illness and there was no evidence proving she caused babies’ deaths, suggesting the three could have been stillborn.