Mom of California baby found dead charged with murder
WOODLAND, Calif. - A judge has allowed prosecutors to upgrade the charge against a California mother accused in the death of her newborn from involuntary manslaughter to murder, reports CBS Sacramento.
Authorities found the three-week old body of Justice Rees under heavy brush near the Sacramento River on Feb. 25. His disheveled and disoriented mother Samantha Green had been found nearby the morning before after making a panicked 911 call.
The Yolo County coroner is still investigating the cause of death and says it appears the baby drowned or died of hypothermia.
Green, 23, appeared in court Friday, where a judge allowed the murder charge and revoked her possibility of bail.
The station reports that she entered a not guilty plea.
Green initially told authorities that she and her son were abducted and that she spent hours screaming for help near the river, a tale investigators say doesn't hold up.
"She made comments about she was there for so many hours screaming and hollering," Yolo Sheriff Ed Prieto said during a news conference last month. "We were able to determine that perhaps (that) didn't happen.
Yolo County prosecutors said Friday that they obtained new evidence since Green was arraigned last week on the involuntary manslaughter charge, reports the Sacramento Bee. However, defense attorneys argued that they didn't detail the new evidence and said the new charge amounted to "vindictive prosecution."