Criminal: July 2009 Archives

Forensic psychiatry expert Dr. Moira Artigues testified last week in defense of Antonio Glennwood Byrd, 26, who is charged with first-degree murder in the July 2, 2007, death of his girlfriend's daughter. The charge came after Mr. Byrd took 2-year-old Miracle McLean to the Anderson Creek Fire Station around 7:15 that morning saying the child had drowned in the tub shortly after he arrived home from work at 7.  The defense expert, a general and forensic psychiatrist from Cary, NC, also says Byrd's mild mental retardation caused him to mistake the child's condition before her death as "normal" and maintains there was not enough time between the infliction of the injuries and death to tie Mr. Byrd to the crime, a point now largely discredited by prior testimony.

Prosecutors Davis Weddle and Teresa Postell allege Mr. Byrd beat the child so badly she died of internal bleeding from blunt force trauma to the abdomen. The autopsy also revealed blunt force trauma to the head and revealed the child was recovering from a broken shoulder.

Excerpted from DailyRecord.com.

A former postal employee from Bridgeport, CT, accused of stealing about $1,000 in gift cards from the mail last year, pleaded guilty Monday to misappropriating postal funds while employed as a Postal Service mail-processing clerk, the US Attorney's office said.  A legal filing in federal court said that Police agreed that the prosecution had evidence that included "physical evidence including the gift cards that were recovered from Ms. Police's person, as well as the testimony of law enforcement officers, expert witnesses, and other witnesses."

 When sentenced Oct. 1, she faces penalties of up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, under the guidelines used in federal court. Her plea agreement with federal prosecutors also requires that she pay the owners of the cards a total of $1,050.

Excerpted from Courant.com.