Child murder case delayed

A Westchester County criminal court judge did not set a trial date for the murder case against the woman accused of killing her child due to scheduling issues today. It is expected that a trial date will

News 12 Staff

Oct 23, 2014, 8:01 PM

Updated 3,858 days ago

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A Westchester County criminal court judge did not set a trial date for the murder case against the woman accused of killing her child due to scheduling issues today. It is expected that a trial date will be set on Lacey Spears' next court appearance Dec. 11.
Spears is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in the poisoning death of her 5-year-old son Garnett. Investigators accuse the single mom of poisoning her son by putting sodium or salt into the boy's feeding tube, which Spears claimed he needed due to a chronic gastrointestinal condition. Garnett died at the Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla in January.
Spears often took to social media to post about her son's medical issues, and prosecutors have suggested she suffers from Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome. It's a psychiatric disorder where a parent harms a child in order to gain attention for themselves.
Defense lawyers had filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Spears claiming prosecutors would not be able to prove their client acted with reckless and utter disregard for human life. Last week, a judge denied requests to suppress various evidence the prosecution plans to use in the trial, including a good portion of Garnett's medical records. The judge also refused to dismiss the case at that time.