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Holly Ashcraft's Baby's Death Ruled Homicide

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Feb 8, 2006 2:42 am US/Pacific

Holly Ashcraft's Baby's Death Ruled Homicide

LOS ANGELES (CBS) ― The Department of the Coroner has ruled that Holly Ashcraft's baby's death was a homicide. According to the autopsy results, the death resulted in caretaker neglect and smothering cannot be ruled out.

The baby was found in a trash bin near the USC campus on October 10, 2005. Holly Ashcraft was arrested the following day and charged on Oct. 13 with one count each of murder and child abuse in the death of "Baby John Doe .171."

The baby was born at 32 weeks, six weeks less than the normal gestation period. Babies born at 32 weeks have a 99.9 percent chance of survival with proper care, to experts told CBS2.

Following a November. 9 hearing, Ashcraft's lawyer, Paul Wallin, told reporters that "the public knows an extremely small amount of the facts. When all of the facts come out, I believe the public will understand what happened and will not believe our client committed any criminal offenses."

(© 2006 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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