Mom pleads guilty to son's shaken death
http://longisland.news12.com/search/mom-pleads-guilty-to-son-s-shaken-death-1.2868870
Mom pleads guilty to son's shaken death
Originally published: May 10, 2011 9:29 PM
Updated: May 10, 2011 9:31 PM
By ANN GIVENS ann.givens@newsday.com
Moments before Lois Saitta pleaded guilty Tuesday to shaking her adopted son to death, she was still craning her neck back to look at her husband in the courtroom, mouthing the words, "What should I do?"
Nassau County Judge David Sullivan sat on the bench for several minutes while the 51-year-old Oceanside woman spoke softly with her lawyer.
But in the end, Saitta pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter for killing her toddler, Christopher. Sullivan, sitting in Mineola, agreed to sentence her to 1 year in jail.
"Did you recklessly cause the death of Christopher Saitta, your adopted son?" Sullivan asked. Saitta's voice quivered, and she wiped tears as she said she had.
Prosecutors said in July 2009, police were called to Saitta's home after a caller said that 2-year-old Christopher had fallen out of a high chair and hit his head.
He suffered severe brain swelling and required surgery to remove a piece of his skull to relieve pressure.
He died about three weeks later.
Doctors indicated the boy's injuries were consistent with shaking, prosecutors said.
He had been adopted six months before from Guatemala.
Saitta, who is free on bail, is due back in court June 23, and may be sentenced on that date.
Prosecutor Silvia Finklestein said in court that her office objected to the 1-year sentence, but recognized that, since Saitta pleaded guilty to the most serious crime she was charged with, they had no role in the plea. Sullivan agreed to drop two less serious charges.
Saitta's lawyer, Kevin Keating, of Garden City, said, "This was a very, very difficult decision, and the court's appropriate commitment reflected a recognition that this trial would have been a real battle."
Keating had previously said that the charges were based upon flawed medical opinions.
Same article
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/mom-pleads-guilty-to-son-s-shaken-death-1.2868870
Mom pleads guilty to son's shaken death
Originally published: May 10, 2011 9:29 PM
Updated: May 10, 2011 9:31 PM
By ANN GIVENS ann.givens@newsday.com
Moments before Lois Saitta pleaded guilty Tuesday to shaking her adopted son to death, she was still craning her neck back to look at her husband in the courtroom, mouthing the words, "What should I do?"
Nassau County Judge David Sullivan sat on the bench for several minutes while the 51-year-old Oceanside woman spoke softly with her lawyer.
But in the end, Saitta pleaded guilty to second-degree...
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