The judge dismissed the case Thursday due to a botched autopsy.
Wired PR News – Charges have been dismissed against an Alabama mother accused of murdering her baby. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), Circuit Judge James Moore dismissed the case brought against Bridget Lee after expert reviews of an autopsy concluded that a crime had not taken place, as initially concluded.
Lee, 34, was jailed for nine months following her arrest in 2006, after medical examiner Dr. Corinnie Stern inaccurately concluded the baby had been suffocated. Lee who suffers from bipolar disorder and depression, reportedly placed her stillborn baby in a container that remained in her SUV for days after panicking, but was not found to have contributed to its death.
The Alabama mother was charged with capital murder based on the findings of the medical examiner. A review of Stern’s forensic cases will reportedly be conducted by the state in light of the new expert findings. Lee is quoted in the report as stating of the doctor’s critical mistake, “I just hope no one is on death row because of an autopsy she did.”
As noted by the AP, the doctor now works in Texas.