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Judge Defends His Acquittal of Sheryl Massip

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Times Staff Writer

The judge who acquitted Sheryl Lynn Massip of murdering her infant son ordered the Anaheim woman today to undergo a preliminary psychiatric exam, and he rebutted critics who have attacked his decision in the case.

In an unusual statement from the bench, Judge Robert R. Fitzgerald departed from the legal questions before him on Massip’s future to address members of the public who have written him to attack his decision Dec. 23 to throw out a jury’s murder verdict against Massip.

Massip ran over her 6-week-old son with a car but claimed that she was suffering at the time from a rare disorder called postpartum psychosis that is thought to prompt severe anxiety, delusions and even violence in some women.

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Fitzgerald told his critics that those people who do not believe that the psychosis exists are “simply not paying attention to current medical knowledge.

“And to the people that think I should step down (as judge), I tell you a resounding ‘no.’ I won’t do that.” Massip’s family and friends in the courtroom clapped at the conclusion of the judge’s statement.

Later, Fitzgerald ordered Massip to begin a preliminary psychiatric exam by county health professionals this month that could result in her being kept in a state institution for up to 6 months for closer observation. Ultimately, Massip could be kept in a state institution for up to 11 years.

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