Harnett mother convicted in death of newborn son

The Herald Sun ^ | 8/28/2003 | AP

[mtbrandon49]

LILLINGTON, N.C. -- A woman charged with murder after she put her newborn son in the trunk of her car was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Thursday and given a suspended sentence.

Sophia Leann Whitley, 20, of Erwin, received a suspended sentence of 20 to 24 months, was placed under electronic house arrest for six months and ordered to serve three years of supervised probation.

[mtbrandon49]

I wasn't pregnant,it was just tissue. (sarcasm off)

[mtbrandon49]

[samtheman]

Whitley said she did not know that she was pregnant when she gave birth alone in the bathroom of her parents' house. She said her son was stillborn, but a medical examiner disagreed.

I guess the judge and jury were too busy to pay close attention to this case. Probably had more important things to do that day.

[mtbrandon49]

I can't get over the charge of manslaughter. The charge should have been murder. They were planning in the beginning to just smack her on the hand.

[samtheman]

She's a murderer. She got away with murder. The judge is corrupt. The jury is hard-hearted. I guess none of them considered what it would be like to spend your first and last hour of life wrapped up in a towel in the trunk of a car. Maybe they thought, "oh well, it was just a baby."

[mtbrandon49]

"A female juror said afterward the jurors were split initially 8-4 in favor of a manslaughter conviction."

I had been keeping up with this for the last few weeks. From what I had gotten from the local news there shouldn't have been a split.

[Pontiac]

Whitley said she did not know that she was pregnant when she gave birth alone in the bathroom of her parents' house.

I am not a woman so maybe some women on the forum will disagree with me on this.

I can not seriously believe a woman when she says this. She would have not had a period for 6 to 9 months, she would have put on 15 to 20 pounds (on the young woman in the photo supplied by mtbrandon49 the pregnancy should have been obvious), she would have felt the child moving in her abdomen.

I can understand a young unmarried woman have bouts of denial about being pregnant, but to honestly say under oath that you did not know you were pregnant and expect anyone to believe you is silly.

[samtheman]

I can understand a young unmarried woman have bouts of denial about being pregnant, but to honestly say under oath that you did not know you were pregnant and expect anyone to believe you is silly.

And to be on the jury, and to be that judge, and to believe that assertion, is to be criminally silly.

[mtbrandon49]

Our court system has acted real silly as of late.

[mtbrandon49]

A Better Summary.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/news/082803_NW_whitleyverdict.html

[mtbrandon49]

A quote from the defense attorney in this one makes you want to stuff him in trash bags and put him in a trunk.

http://www.wral.com/news/2440034/detail.html

[najida]

I have known of women who were past 40 and a bit heavy not realizing they were pregnant...

The missed periods were thought to be menopause, the abdomenal discomfort was thought to be, well....indigestion.

Even then, they found out near the end. The one I know of personally was shocked at first, then she and her husband were totally overjoyed.

This girl is WAY too thin to 'not know'. And the weight gain is usually focused in one part of the body. I don't buy her story for one second.

[madprof98]

Probably had more important things to do that day.

Trying to stop somebody somewhere from putting up a Ten Commadments display? Protecting the Constitutional Right to some sexual perversion? (The possibilities are endless.)

[fortaydoos]

There is no justice in this country. This piece of filth should be executed, but they give her this slap on the wrist?

[mtbrandon49]

In the article I posted at #11 you see the typical liberal mindset of her parents. They are in a rush to put the whole thing behind them. The I don't physically see a problem so there is no problem attitude.

[basil]

It is possible for the woman to be so mentally deluded that she "doesn't know" she is pregnant. I saw several of these cases when I was practicing nursing in delivery rooms.

What I want to know, though, is--are both parents delulsional also? How can they be around their daughter and not notice that she's pregnant? How can their daughter deliver a child in their bathroom, and neither of them notices that anything was amiss?

[Pontiac]

How can they be around their daughter and not notice that she's pregnant? How can their daughter deliver a child in their bathroom, and neither of them notices that anything was amiss?

This occurred to me also.

How self-absorbed can two adults be?

Did the daughter spend 9 months in her room? Were the parents having an extended vacation in Europe while she was pregnant?

My daughter will be entering puberty soon. I hope that I am a little more observant of my daughter’s behavior than this young woman’s father.