Mother who let diaper-wearing baby rot away to skeleton cleared of murder

A mother who let her diaper-wearing baby rot away to a skeleton in her trash-filled home has been cleared of murder.

Erika Murray, 35, was acquitted of second-degree murder on Thursday after prosecutors were unable to prove that she caused one of the infant’s deaths, Judge Janet Kenton Walker ruled.

Walker also ruled that Murray, a mother of seven, was mentally impaired and she did not understand how bad the conditions of her home had become, CBS reported.

Murray was arrested in Blackstone, Massachusetts in August 2014 when police discovered a dead infant stuffed in a closet of the filthy home, with the placenta still attached, near a dead dog in a separate bag.

A second baby’s body was found in another closet. A third was discovered ‘diapered and fully clothed, but they were skeletal remains,’ prosecutors said.

One of the two murder charges against her was dismissed earlier this month because a medical examiner could not determine whether the baby was born dead or alive.

She was never charged with the third baby’s death.

Murray was also acquitted of child endangerment, however she was found guilty of two counts of assault and battery on a child.

Walker said Murray had: ‘Cognitive deficits, personality disorder and victimization … produced extremely primitive coping mechanisms.’

‘She was not conscious or aware of how bad everything had become.’

Murray waved her right to a jury trial, so her fate was in the hands of judge Walker.

The horrid conditions of Murray’s home was originally reported by her neighbor, Betsy Brown, after Murray’s ten-year-old came to her to help him shush a crying baby.

Brown was the first witness to testify in Murray’s case and broke down crying as she described the home.

She said: ‘Dirty diapers, lots of dirty diapers, baby bottles, maggots everywhere. It was really dark and hot. It was horrible.’

‘You really couldn’t see a floor. It was more like just walking on top of stuff trying to get to other stuff … horrible rotting food, dirty diapers. It was horrible. It was the worst smell I’ve ever smelled.’

According to court records, Murray and her boyfriend, 42-year-old Raymond Rivera, could not afford to care for more children.

Rivera is awaiting trial on assault and endangerment charges.

Murray faces up to 20 years in jail and is set to be sentenced on July 11.