Sunday, October 17, 2010

Woman acquitted after second trial on child abuse charges

Woman acquitted after second trial on child abuse charges
Christine Ferretti / The Detroit News
Last Updated: October 15. 2010 5:47PM

Mount Clemens — Julie Baumer embraced and thanked jurors today after the panel acquitted her of child abuse charges following her second trial on the allegations.

"I'm very grateful and happy that the nightmare in my life for seven years is finally over," Baumer said from a Macomb County Circuit courtroom after the verdict. "I can finally start healing old wounds."

Baumer, 34, of Harrison Township, was granted a new trial in November on claims her legal counsel was ineffective when a jury convicted her of first-degree child abuse in 2005. Prosecutors allege she violently shook her 6-week-old nephew, Philipp Baumer, in October 2003, leaving him blind and brain injured.

The child, now 7, has since been adopted and renamed Ben Zentz.

This time around, Baumer's new attorney, Carl Marlinga, presented medical testimony that the boy suffered from venous sinus thrombosis or a "childhood stroke," rather than abuse.

....The University of Michigan Innocence Clinic aided in Baumer's case. The clinic was established in 2009 to litigate claims of innocence by prisoners in cases where DNA evidence is not available. Baumer is the fourth prisoner they've helped exonerate so far. The clinic has taken up about a dozen cases. FULL STORY

Julie Baumer spent four years in prison.

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