Foster Mother Guilty in Boy’s Death

A Newbury Park woman was found guilty by a jury Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse in the death of her 2-year-old foster son, whose body was covered with more than 70 bruises when he died last November.

The woman, Julie Maslin, 34, had been charged with second-degree murder and two counts of felony child abuse for inflicting the injuries on Christopher Greer, who had been placed in her care by county authorities in February, 1986.

Maslin could be sentenced to a maximum of 11 years for her conviction on one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of felony child abuse, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth said.

“Obviously I am a little disappointed that the jury didn’t find her guilty of murder,” Henke-Dobroth said. “But I am satisfied that they found she inflicted the injury and that they knew that it was not an accident.”

County coroners testified during the four-week trial that Christopher died Nov. 4 of a massive infection stemming from a rupture in his intestine. Medical experts testified that the intestinal injury was probably caused by a blow to the abdomen several days earlier.

Defense attorney Steve Pell had argued that the boy’s fatal injury could have been suffered in an accident. Christopher’s infection, he argued, made him bruise more readily.

The jury deliberated two days before reaching its verdict on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter in the trial before Ventura County Superior Court Judge Edwin M. Osborne.

“We were convinced that a crime was committed and that she did it,” said jury foreman Mark Leffler of Ventura. “We looked very hard for malice, for it to fit into second-degree murder. But it was clear that she didn’t want to kill the child.”

Maslin told Ventura County sheriff’s investigators last November that Christopher’s injuries were caused by several heavy objects that fell on him when she was trying to pull them from a closet shelf, according to court records.

Maslin called paramedics shortly afterward, when she found that Christopher was not breathing, court records said. He died that evening at Los Robles Regional Medical Center.

During testimony in the trial, Maslin denied ever striking Christopher, and, using a full-sized model of the closet in the courtroom, she explained to jurors how the objects fell from the closet shelf.

But juror Leffler said after the verdict that Maslin’s explanation of how the boy was injured was “totally ridiculous.”

“We spent a total of of about five minutes discussing that possibility,” Leffler said.

Defense attorney Pell said the jury’s verdict supported his contention that Christopher’s death resulted from an accident. “If they had to find her guilty of something, better involuntary than voluntary manslaughter, and better that than second-degree murder,” he said.

Maslin’s sentencing is set for Aug. 5.

Christopher was placed in the Maslin home after being taken from his natural mother, a 21-year-old Simi Valley woman, by the Children Services section of the county Public Social Services Agency in December, 1985, court records said.

Maslin, who has a 4-year-old of her own, became eligible to be a foster mother in November, 1985, after meeting all the state and county requirements, agency deputy director Helen Reburn said. Like other prospective foster parents, she underwent an interview, a home study and a criminal-records check, and submitted financial statements. Foster parents of infants in Ventura County are allocated $300 a month.

“To all outward appearances Mrs. Maslin was a loving, caring individual who could provide good care for children in her home,” Reburn said. “It’s tragic, but even if we had the resources for a full-scale psychological evaluation, I’m not sure that this could have been predicted.”