[grellis]

I'm no legal scholar by any stretch. Does this mean she can be charged with 1std.murder and it must be shown that she intended to murder or intended to commit 1std. child abuse, the underlying felony? She willfully abandoned her children for over three hours. The oldest child was two. Abuse in my book.

[apackof2]

Yes, it means that it must be proved that she intended to harm her children.
I looked up the "child abuse" defintion that would pertain to the felony statute so she can claim it was an "accident" and the burden is on the prosecutor to prove that the "intent" or reason she left her kids was to harm them, which without direct witness testimony would seem pretty difficult to me

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION ACT (EXCERPT)

Act 250 of 1982

722.602 Definitions. Sec. 2.

(1) As used in this act:

(a) “Child” means a person under 18 years of age.

(b) “Child abuse” means harm or threatened harm to a child's health or welfare by a person responsible for the child's health or welfare, which harm occurs or is threatened through nonaccidental physical or mental injury; sexual abuse, which includes a violation of section 145c of the Michigan penal code, Act No. 328 of the Public Acts of 1931, being section 750.145c of the Michigan Compiled Laws.