Strange case stuck in red tape Woman charged in child's death; lawyers want to read medical records first

Herald-Sun, The (Durham, NC)

Author: JOHN STEVENSON jstevenson@heraldsun.com; 419-6643

A mountain of paperwork has stalled one of Durham's most unusual murder cases: a woman accused of killing her child years after the injury occurred that allegedly led to the death. A new court date of April 18 was set this week for Melinda Ann Wilkins. Wilkins pleaded guilty to a felony charge of abusing her daughter in 1996, only to be accused of murdering the child in 2003. The case had been set for Wednesday. But lawyers said they had just received a pile of medical records about the victim totaling more than 1,000 pages. They said they needed to examine the documents before the trial could go forward.

Durham lawyer Jay Ferguson vowed Thursday to defend Wilkins vigorously. "She has never been in trouble in her entire life, nothing," Ferguson said. "She is anxious to have this matter resolved in court. But this case is not going to be resolved quickly. There are a lot of legal issues. ... This is totally the most unique case I have ever handled in the criminal arena." The case arose in 1995, when Wilkins' daughter, Melissa Wilkins, then 19 months old, suffered injuries that sent her to Duke University Hospital, then to Lenox Baker Children's Hospital in Durham and finally to the Hilltop Home for Retarded Children in Raleigh.

Medical experts concluded that the child was a victim of "shaken baby impact syndrome." They said her injuries were "consistent with grabbing the child around the ribcage and exerting pressure so that the ribs were fractured," according to a prosecutor. The injuries included a blood clot on the brain, retinal hemorrhaging, a fractured back and a fractured skull. As a result, the child reportedly became blind, speechless and unable even to sit up without support.

Melinda Wilkins pleaded guilty to felony child abuse in November 1996 and was sentenced to between 31 and 47 months in prison. She was paroled in July 1999. Her child died in June 2003 at age 9. But because of a mix-up with the death certificate, police didn't learn about the girl's death until July 2004. By then, it was too late to conduct an autopsy because the remains had been cremated. Melinda Wilkins was charged with first-degree murder in September. The only possible punishments for that offense are life in prison without parole or death. Wilkins is free on bond as she awaits the outcome of her case.