By Dave Andrusko

Melissa Schrae Bowen
When last we reported on Melissa Schrae Bowen, the Prince Frederick, Maryland, woman–originally charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of manslaughter–had agreed to an “Alford Plea,” which meant she did not admit guilt to the charges but conceded the state has enough evidence to find a guilty verdict.
According to the Gazette newspaper, the prosecution would seek 20 years imprisonment at the Division of Corrections for the involuntary manslaughter of “Baby Boy A” and “Baby Boy B.”
But on November 3, when Calvert County Circuit Court Judge Marjorie Clagett sentenced Bowen, it was to 10 years, the Gazette reported. “For the first count of involuntary manslaughter, Bowen received a sentence of 10 years with all but seven suspended; for the second, 10 years with all but three suspended,” according to staff writer Andrea Frazier.
At the sentencing hearing, Bowen insisted she had not killed her children.“I know I did not appropriately handle the birth of my children, but I did not kill them,” said Bowen, 34, in addressing the court. “They were born dead.”
While there was an abundance of evidence, including numerous conversations with investigators, Bowen’s attorney, Louis Martucci, “pointed out that, because of the state of decomposition of the bodies, autopsies could not conclusively determine the manner of the babies’ deaths,” Frazier wrote back in August.
Bowen was indicted in October 2013, following more than a year of police investigation.
According to the criminal indictment, “Baby Boy A” was killed between January 1 and December 31, 2007, and Baby Boy B” died between October 24, 2011, and January 31, 2012.
Prosecutor and Assistant State’s Attorney Kathryn Marsh said Bowen’s mother discovered one of the babies in March 2012, while the other was found in an attic in a La Plata home.
Frazier explained
“Bowen’s mother placed a 911 call March 8, 2012, after she found a deceased baby boy, with its umbilical cord still attached, in a trash bag in the trunk of her daughter’s car, which she had been cleaning out. Although Bowen — who had hidden both her pregnancies — originally stated that she had miscarried in Oct. 2011 at five months and had not previously known she was pregnant, an autopsy revealed that the baby weighed 6 pounds and that her story could not be true.”
Marsh said neither baby tested positive for illicit substances and “there were no medical or scientific reasons why both babies should not have been born alive,” Frazier reported.
Almost exactly eight months later,
“officers of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office located a deceased newborn infant in a suitcase in the attic of a residence located in La Plata. Police determined that the infant died in Huntingtown in Calvert County and was subsequently transported by Bowen to the La Plata residence. Police believed that the infant was born between January 2007 and December 2007.”
Frazier also reported that
“Subsequent conversations with investigators revealed that Bowen did not know who the father of ‘Baby Boy B’ was, that she had continued to drink alcohol and snort cocaine and Percocet for the duration of that pregnancy and that she had known she was pregnant for months prior to delivery but had been unable to afford an abortion.
“Bowen also indicated that she knew in her heart that both babies had been born alive, that she was depressed and overwhelmed by the three children she already had and that each baby had lain on his side in the toilet with his nose and mouth submerged before being removed.”
Frazier noted that each of the two charges carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and a $500 fine. She (correctly) predicted
“Assuming that no additional information like the advent of a prior criminal record or more dead children, the court will give a sentence of no more than 10 years, allowing Bowen to serve her two sentences at the same time, according to court documents.”
Marsh, the prosecutor, was less forgiving than the court. According to Frazier
Bowen has consistently refused to accept responsibility for her addiction or for her actions, Marsh said, adding that her priorities are self-centered; she sought medical treatment on other occasions, but did not have any prenatal care when pregnant with either of the deceased infants and did not tend to them when they were born into toilets.
“The actions show no remorse,” Marsh said. “It happened in 2007 and again in 2011.”
Most egregiously, Marsh said, Bowen has refused to acknowledge that the father of one of the babies suffered a loss or is a victim of her decisions.
(Tip of the hat to lifenews.com.)