MD high court takes up Howard County newborn death case

The Maryland Supreme Court will decide if evidence of a pregnant Howard County woman forgoing prenatal care and performing internet searches about terminating a pregnancy are relevant to show her intent to kill her newborn at birth, or if that evidence is unfairly prejudicial.

The high court granted Moira E. Akers’ petition for writ of certiorari on Tuesday following the Maryland Appellate Court affirming a Howard County jury’s conviction that sentenced Akers to 30 years incarceration for second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse in the death of her newborn.

In an unreported opinion written by Judge Laura S. Ripken, the appellate court in January determined that evidence of Akers’ lack of prenatal care and internet search history were both relevant and admissible at trial.

Akers argued before the appellate court that evidence of her internet search history and absence of any prenatal care during her pregnancy were irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial and should have been excluded.

Counsel for Akers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

In November 2018, first responders were dispatched to Akers’ home to treat her for severe vaginal bleeding. According to the appellate opinion, Akers told an emergency medical technician that she was not pregnant, but later told a doctor at the hospital that she had delivered a stillborn infant at home and that the infant was “in a closet at home in a Ziploc bag,” after the doctor observed a severed umbilical cord protruding from her.

An EMT and a law enforcement officer subsequently returned to Akers’ home, finding a deceased infant in a large plastic bag filled with bloodied towels inside a closed bedroom closet, the opinion states.

Akers told a detective that she had been informed at a May 2018 obstetrician and gynecologist appointment that she was 15 weeks pregnant, which was too late in the pregnancy to conduct an abortion. However, according to the opinion, medical records show Akers was approximately 11 weeks pregnant at the time of her appointment and was provided referrals for abortion services.

Akers told the detective she hoped “something would happen” that would terminate her pregnancy, and said she resolved to hide the pregnancy from her husband after her OB/GYN appointment.

After conducting the infant’s autopsy, the medical examiner determined the cause of death was homicide due to asphyxia. According to the opinion, all of the medical examiner’s other findings during the autopsy were consistent with the results of the hydrostatic float test, indicating live birth.

Among other findings, the appeals court found that expert testimony regarding the hydrostatic float test used to determine if the infant’s lungs had been aerated was admissible — a test regarded as controversial and unreliable among some in the medical community.

While the appellate court cautioned that its’ ruling is “exceedingly narrow” in scope and specific to the facts of the case, the Maryland Supreme Court taking up the case will allow it — once decided by the high court — to be cited as precedent.

A spokesperson for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General declined to comment.

Oral argument in the case is scheduled for Sept. 6 at the Maryland Supreme Court.