Baby’s Mother to Face Charge of Murder

An Anaheim woman, who sat in court crying continuously, was ordered to stand trial on murder charges for the death of her 6-week-old son last April.

But North Municipal Judge Margaret Anderson reduced the bail for Sheryl Lynn Massip, 23, from $250,000 to $125,000, which could mean her early release from Orange County Jail.

Massip is accused of running over the child, Michael A. Massip, on April 29, the day after she had spent the night at her father’s house seeking a rest from the child’s crying.

“This is a sick woman who killed her child;but she simply did not have the capability of forming any malicious intent,” said her attorney, Milton C. Grimes. “This case at best is a voluntary manslaughter.”

Grimes said Massip’s parents and other family members are trying to arrange bail for her. If she is released from the jail, Grimes said he will try to place her in a mental facility.

“This is a tragic, sad case,” Grimes said. “The woman needs help, and she can’t get the kind of help she needs at the Orange County Jail.”

Pathologist Robert Richards testified Wednesday that the child died from injuries suffered when he was run over by the car. The body was found in a trash can behind a house about three miles from Massip’s home.

Massip originally told police that a woman had snatched the child from her near a school. But police learned later that a witness had seen a woman matching Massip’s description throw a small bundle in front of her own car.

Grimes acknowledged that his client had made up the kidnap story. He said the baby had been crying so much that Massip had gone to a doctor two days before April 29 to complain that she had trouble dealing with the infant. The doctor ordered medication for her, but she never took it, Grimes said.

Two hours after her husband left for work the morning of April 29, the baby was killed.

Grimes called it “a classic case of postpartum psychosis.”

Her husband, Alfredo G. Massip, testified Wednesday that she had admitted to him she had killed the child. He said he tried to comfort her, but that he is now indifferent toward her and doesn’t love her anymore.

Grimes said Massip will live with her father and stepmother if she is released from jail.