Wisconsin's District IV Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial for Audrey Edmunds, the Waunakee woman convicted in the 1995 "shaken-baby syndrome" death of seven-month-old Natalie Beard.
The court reversed a March 2007 decision by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Daniel R. Moeser, who presided over Edmunds' original trial eleven years ago.
"The newly discovered evidence in this case shows that there has been a shift in mainstream medical opinion since the time of Edmunds's trial as to the cause of the types of injuries Natalie suffered," wrote Judge Charles P. Dykman in a 15-page decision.
"Thus, we conclude that the record establishes that there is a reasonable probability that a jury, looking at both the new medical testimony and the old medical testimony, would have a reasonable doubt as to Edmunds's guilt. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new trial."
Now 46, Edmunds has been incarcerated since 1997. She spoke to Isthmus for a May 2007 profile about her case.
The full text of the court decision is available in the related downloads at right.
