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Court overturns conviction of Missouri woman whose baby died

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri appeals court says a woman who gave birth to a baby whose body was later found in a car trunk should not have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Usnick photo MDC

The Missouri Western District Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned the conviction of 43-year-old Emily Usnick, saying in a unanimous opinion that the state didn’t prove she acted recklessly or with criminal intent.

Usnick was originally charged with second-degree murder after her baby died in 2009. She was convicted in 2017 of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors argued she gave birth unattended, failed to seek medical attention after the birth and enclosed the body in a plastic bag before putting it in the trunk.

The body was found during a drug raid at Usnick’s home in St. Elizabeth in Miller County.

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