Irvine Woman Pleads Not Guilty to Killing Baby Daughter in 1976

Prosecutors in Tazewell County, Ill., who filed the murder charges, allege that Neal violently shook her child to death. At the time of the baby's death, a coroner discovered no foul play. Neal had told doctors that the baby had been injured in a fall.

Neal's attorney, Keith Ross of Santa Ana, has denied the allegations, saying Neal was "going through a very difficult time."

Victoria Neal, 44, who was arrested at her Irvine home Thursday, denied killing her adopted daughter, Danielle Christine Neal. The baby girl died in a ...

[excerpt]