Judge Overrides jury, Says Mother Innocent in Killing : Insanity Defense Prevails

In an extraordinary reversal, a Superior Court judge today rejected a jury verdict against Sheryl Lynn Massip and found her not guilty by reason of insanity in the killing of her infant son in 1987.

The decision stunned the Santa Ana courtroom and marked what legal participants said was an unusual reversal of a jury’s decision. Cheers broke out from Massip’s relatives in the courtroom and tears flowed freely.

Massip, weeping, called the decision the best Christmas she ever could have hoped for.

‘Jury Did Not Understand’

“I was praying that people would understand. The jury did not understand. But I’m just thankful that the judge did.”

Massip, 24, of Anaheim claimed throughout the course of her two-month trial this fall that she was suffering from a rare maternal disorder known as postpartum psychosis that drove her insane when she ran over her 6-week-old son with the family car on April 29, 1987.

But a jury rejected that argument last month, finding her guilty of second-degree murder, punishable by 15 years to life in prison.

As Massip and her family prepared for today’s sentencing, holding a prayer vigil at her home last night, they had hoped at best that Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald would order Massip to serve probation for her criminal conviction.

Instead, Fitzgerald vacated the conviction altogether, finding that all the medical and circumstantial evidence in the trial pointed to a woman who was insane when she killed her child.

Fitzgerald acknowledged the rarity of his decision, calling it “extraordinary relief.”

‘Judge Was a Good Guy’

“I told you the judge was a good guy,” Massip’s father, Ed DeLano of Rowland Heights, told a family member immediately after the judge’s ruling.

Prosecuting attorney Tom Borris left through a back door of the courtroom, declining to speak with reporters. He had argued successfully at the trial that Massip knew what she was doing when she ran over her child, as shown in part by a story she later told police that the child had been kidnaped.

Massip then told police her child had been snatched from her arms by a mystery woman with red hair and gun. But shortly after Massip went to authorities, her infant’s tiny, battered body was found in a trash can.

On Feb. 3, she will reappear before Fitzgerald who will determine whether she should be committed for psychiatric care.

Because the judge found her guilty of voluntary manslaughter but insane--and then ruled that she is innocent by reason of that insanity--she could be committed to an institution for up to 11 years.

But defense attorney Milton C. Grimes said he doubted that will happen. The judge told Massip as she left the courtroom that he hopes that she can lead a “productive life.”

Massip’s husband, Alfredo, who served her with divorce papers while she was in jail, refused to speak with reporters. He reportedly wrote a letter before today’s sentencing urging strong punishment for his ex-wife.