WILLMAR -- Elaine Morton, the Willmar woman accused of killing a 4-month-old girl while baby-sitting her, has been found guilty of second-degree manslaughter, and first and third-degree assault. She was acquitted on one count of second-degree unintentional murder.
In her ruling Tuesday, Kandiyohi County District Court Judge Kathryn Smith concluded that Morton "caused the death of Maria Galvan by holding her too tightly against her chest, preventing her from breathing."
The three-day court trial concluded Nov. 2. Smith had until today to make her decision.
Morton was not originally charged with second-degree manslaughter, but it is considered a "lesser included offense" of the second-degree unintentional murder charge.
A lesser included offense is an offense that has elements of the more serious charge. Even when all the elements of the more serious charge are not proven, a judge or jury may convict on the lesser included offense if all of the elements of that crime are proven.
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From September through December 2004, Morton, 28, baby-sat Maria Del Cielo Galvan, while her mother, Santos Galvan Azua, worked a night shift at a Jennie-O Turkey Store plant.
In the morning hours of Dec. 16, the child died while in Morton's care. An autopsy completed by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's office found the child died of suffocation.
The examiners also found she'd sustained a large skull fracture.
Morton, in many interviews with emergency medical officials and police officers, changed her account of the events that occurred the day Galvan died. Morton said that during the morning, she'd bumped the child's head on the crib accidentally.
The tape of Morton's interview with police was not played in her court trial, but a transcript was given to Smith. According to Smith's decision, Morton told police that after bumping Galvan's head, she watched a television show with her son and held the baby. Morton then laid the child down in the crib. Morton said she later checked on the baby and found she was very still. She said she picked up the child and held her tightly as she sang three lullabies to her. She said the child was barely breathing.
Morton told police she then tried CPR and continued to hold the child, but never called 911. She said she then laid the baby down on her face so her 9-year-old son would not see the baby's purple face, the decision says.
Morton waited until 3:15 p.m. to call 911, a call during which she emotionally told the dispatcher that she'd fed the child at 1:45 p.m.
"(Morton) caused the death of Maria Galvan by culpable negligence," Smith wrote in her decision. "She created an unreasonable risk and consciously took a chance of causing death or great bodily harm when she failed to summon assistance when she realized that Maria was having difficulty breathing."
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Smith stated that Morton was the only person who could have caused the fracture to the child's head because she was alone with the child in the morning hours and she "knew the exact location of the child's skull fracture, prior to receiving any information about it," Smith wrote.
Smith ruled that at the time of Galvan's death, Morton was not committing a felony offense, which is required under state statute to convict someone of second-degree unintentional murder.
Assistant Kandiyohi County Attorney Connie Crowell said she was happy with the decision.
Public Defender John Holbrook, Morton's attorney, said he and his client were disappointed and had hoped for a full acquittal. However, he said he respects Smith's decision and her deliberation over the "difficult" case.
"It was a terrible tragedy for everyone involved," he said.
