San Marcos
A 38-year-old woman accused of shaking to death her 13-month-old step-granddaughter pleaded not guilty in Superior Court Friday to charges of murder and child abuse.
Donna Marie Kirk of San Marcos was indicted by the grand jury earlier this month after authorities determined that the victim died as a result of “shaken infant syndrome,” which causes bleeding in the head but no external injuries.
Kirk, who is free on $100,000 bail, is accused in the death of Erica Lynn Bihr, who died at San Diego Children’s Hospital on Sept. 30.
Kirk reportedly told authorities that the infant was injured after falling out of her playpen and onto a carpeted floor. However, Deputy Dist. Atty. Eugenia Eyherabide said Friday that Kirk has made statements, “some of which may be construed as contradictory.”
Superior Court Judge Herbert J. Exarhos accepted Kirk’s not-guilty plea, but he denied a defense motion for a preliminary hearing.
Normally in felony cases, the accused is arraigned in Municipal Court, where a preliminary hearing is held to determine if a trial should be held in Superior Court. But, in the wake of Proposition 115, which was designed to streamline judicial proceedings, defendants indicted after secret grand jury hearings are first arraigned in Superior Court.
Exarhos set a trial date of March 20, and he said that Kirk’s attorney can challenge the competence of the grand jury at a future motions hearing.
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