MOTHER ACQUITTED OF KILLING BABY

A judge acquitted a woman of murder and manslaughter in the death of her 10-month-old daughter, whose bones may have been too brittle to withstand the rigors of normal living.

Dakota County District Judge Leslie Metzen said Thursday that a medical dispute over whether Jessica McClure, had brittle-bone disease created a reasonable doubt that the girl was the victim of child abuse.

``Reasonable and brilliant scientific minds do not agree on whether Jessica suffered from the disease,'' Metzen said in announcing the verdict on Julie McClure 34, of Lakeville.

The prosecution ``presented strong evidence that Jessica was the victim of child abuse,'' Metzen said, but the case was not proved beyond a reasonable doubt.