Charges Against Mother Delayed : Investigation: Counsel for a woman accused of killing her baby hopes the inaction is a signal that charges may be dropped.

The district attorney’s office Tuesday delayed filing charges against Marchelle Lynn Black, the Cypress woman who police said killed her newborn baby. Black’s public defender speculated the move could signal that prosecutors have been unable to come up with sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Randy Pawloski declined to comment on the possibility that the case against Black may be dropped.

“All I can tell you right now is that no charge has been filed (against Black) and that there is an ongoing investigation. Beyond that, about all I could say is ‘no comment,’ ” he said.

Cypress police arrested Black, 27, Sunday after officials at Pioneer Hospital in Norwalk told them she had given birth recently but was not clear on the whereabouts of the baby. Police said they went to the Blacks’ home in Cypress and found a dead infant wrapped in a bag.

Friends and relatives have said that Black had convinced herself that she was not pregnant. They described her as a good wife and mother who was physically and mentally strained from caring for her three children, aged 1, 2 and 3. “She was just worn out,” said her father-in-law, Richard Black.

Shelly Aronson, Marchelle Black’s public defender, said Tuesday that she is encouraged by the district attorney’s delay in filing a charge against Black.

“It would appear that they don’t feel they have a strong enough case to bring to court, and my speculation is that they probably have some problems with the cause of death--that maybe they’ve found the baby died of natural causes. That’s what I’m hoping they find, but I don’t know at this point, and I can only speculate.”

Aronson said Black was released from Orange County Jail on Tuesday.

“I talked to her (on Monday) and she was very frightened and very devastated about what happened--very upset,” Aronson said. “In my opinion, this is a tragedy for everyone.”

Aronson added, “I don’t feel she’s guilty of a crime.”

Black was scheduled to appear in West Orange Municipal Court in Westminster Tuesday morning for arraignment, a usually brief legal proceeding during which a prisoner is formally charged by the district attorney’s office in the presence of a judge. The prisoner usually enters a plea. Black’s arraignment was delayed because the district attorney had not yet filed a formal charge against her. No date was set for a new arraignment, court officials said.