Irish nanny murder charge dropped

[caption id="attachment_79963" align="aligncenter" width="300"]

Aisling Brady McCarthy.  PHOTO CREDIT WBZ TV

Aisling Brady McCarthy. PHOTO CREDIT WBZ TV

Aisling Brady McCarthy. PHOTO CREDIT WBZ TV[/caption]

By Jim Smith

BOSTON --- In a stunning development, prosecutors have dropped the murder charge against Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy, citing the conclusions of a recently amended medical examiner's report which stated that one-year-old Rehma Sabir's death may have been attributable in part "to some type of disorder that was not able to be completely diagnosed prior to her death."

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The dropping of the murder charge suggests that McCarthy may be returning to her home in Ireland soon, although it is unclear if she will face some additional charges, or be deported based upon her illegal status as a result of having overstayed a temporary visa issued in 2002.

McCarthy, a 37-year-old County Cavan native, had been accused of physically assaulting the infant on January 14, 2013, causing massive head trauma and subdural retinal hemorrhaging consistent with a violent shaking injury.

After a recent comprehensive review, however, the medical examiner concluded in her report that she was "no longer convinced that the subdural hemorrhage in this case could only have been caused by abusive/inflicted head trauma, and I can no longer rule the manner of death as a homicide."

The report stated: “After review of additional materials including expert witness reports from the defense and prosecution, additional transcripts of police interviews, transcripts of grand jury testimony, additional medical records, DCF reports, and additional laboratory testing related to the death of Rehma Sabir, a decision has been made to change the cause and manner of death.

"These additional materials put forth several different and often conflicting opinions about the cause of Rehma's death. While I do not agree with all of the conclusions that are drawn by the various experts they do present a significant amount of additional information that was not available to me prior to reaching my original conclusion about the cause and manner of death in this case.

“In particular the overall state of Rehma’s health and her past medical issues raise the possibility that she had some type of disorder that was not able to be completely diagnosed prior to her death.
"Review of Rehma’s coagulation and hematology testing, her history of bruising, the NIH guidelines for diagnosis of von Willebrand disease, and literature on the subject suggest to me that Rehma’s low von Willebrand factor could have made her prone to easy bleeding with relatively minor trauma. Given these uncertainties, I am no longer convinced that the subdural hemorrhage in this case could only have been caused by abusive/inflicted head trauma, and I can no longer rule the manner of death as a homicide.

“I believe that enough evidence has been presented to raise the possibility that the bleeding could have been related to an accidental injury in a child with a bleeding risk or possibly could have even been a result of an undefined natural disease. As such I am amending the cause and manner of death to reflect this uncertainty.”

McCarthy's defense team had been arguing during the proceedings that the child had been ill for much of her infancy, had sustained prior bone fractures of unknown etiology, and had been traveling with her parents in England, Saudi Arabia, and India for several weeks prior to her death.

In her press release issued Monday afternoon, Middlesex District Attorney, Marian Ryan, wrote: "Based upon the present state of evidence, including the amended ruling from the Medical Examiner who perfomed the autopsy, the Commonwealth cannot meet its burden of proof."

McCarthy was released from Framingham State prison on bail in May while awaiting her trial, which was expected to begin in October. She has been in home confinement and subject to GPS monitoring.

Prior to her May release McCarthy had been held in prison since her arrest on the murder charge on January 21, 2013.

Her attorney, Melinda Thompson, said her client was “put in jail for two and a half years for a crime that never occurred.”

 

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