Pair Accused of Killing Son Now at Odds

Two former high school sweethearts accused of murdering their newborn son at a motel have turned on each other.

Brian Peterson, 19, pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter and agreed to testify against Amy Grossberg, also 19.

His plea came a week after Grossberg’s lawyers asked for separate trials and sought to introduce evidence blaming Peterson for the death.

Peterson believed the baby was stillborn and put it in a plastic bag in the motel trash bin after Grossberg ordered, “Get rid of it. Get rid of it,” said Russell Gioiella, Peterson’s lawyer.

“Brian has explained at great length the infant didn’t show any signs of life,” Gioiella said. “Brian had no intent to harm the baby in any way.”

Grossberg’s lawyers have said polygraph results they want admitted into evidence indicate Grossberg never saw the baby and believed she had a miscarriage. Any criminal responsibility for disposing of the baby’s body could then fall on Peterson.

The Wyckoff, N.J., couple were arrested after their son’s November 1996 death in a motel near the University of Delaware, where Grossberg was a freshman. Peterson was a freshman at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.

The baby died of multiple skull fractures and shaking, the medical examiner’s office said.

Peterson could have gotten the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of murder. Instead, he could receive up to 10 years for manslaughter. No sentencing date was set.

Grossberg’s trial is set for May 4.

The two had exchanged smiles during early court appearances but avoided eye contact at a hearing Friday, when Grossberg’s lawyers asked for a separate trial. Grossberg was not in court Monday.

A nervous-looking Peterson answered, “Yes, sir” when Judge Henry duPont Ridgely asked him if he understood the repercussions of his plea. His mother wept.

Both teens have been living with their families, free on $300,000 bail but monitored electronically.