Foster mother's trial postponed for the third time

St. Petersburg Times

Author: MARK JOURNEY

Dateline: ST. PETERSBURG

ST. PETERSBURG - After 4-month-old Corey Greer died, his foster mother was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Two years later, she has yet to go to trial.

Judith Lundy, 49, was scheduled to be tried today. But Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court Judge Fred Bryson said Monday he postponed the trial for the third time because defense attorney Ky Koch failed to provide prosecutors with the name of one of his witnesses.

Assistant State Attorney Mary McKeown wants to interview the witness, who lives in Indiana, before going to trial, Bryson said. He said he could have prohibited the witness from testifying in the trial. But then attorneys might have appealed the case because the witness wasn't allowed to testify, he said.

''If I excluded the testimony of that witness,'' Bryson said, ''it was just going to come back like a U-turn.''

Bryson said he probably will not schedule Mrs. Lundy's trial before early next year for the following reasons:

His secretary is vacationing.

He has pending civil cases that need to be tried during the next few months.

Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are coming up.

Originally, the two-week trial was scheduled for February. Then it was postponed until March. But Mrs. McKeown was about to have a baby, so the trial date was changed to September.

Furthermore, Bryson said, it is not unusual for murder cases to take two years before going to trial because of the number of witnesses that must be interviewed.

Mrs. Lundy was charged in the death of Corey two years ago. The baby was removed from his natural parents' apartment in St. Petersburg after Corey and his 1 1/2-year-old sister were found alone in soiled diapers and with a butcher knife within reach. He was placed in Mrs. Lundy's home at 11305 Seventh St. E, in Treasure Island.

Eleven other children were there - all placed in the home by the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services officials.

Corey had been classified as medically at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and was supposed to wear a heart monitor. Mrs. Lundy, however, put the monitor on a shelf, according to police reports.

An autopsy revealed that Corey died of dehydration and too much sodium in his blood.