Murder charge OKd for student in baby’s death
Holly Ashcraft, a USC student whose newborn son was found dead in a trash bin near campus, can be charged with murder, a Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge ruled Monday.
Ashcraft, 22, was arrested in October 2005 after the baby’s body was found by a homeless man who was sifting through trash behind a restaurant near USC.
In March, a judge dismissed a murder charge, saying the evidence supported only lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse leading to death.
Instead, prosecutors had the entire case dismissed and refiled the murder charge.
A hearing to determine whether evidence is sufficient to bring Ashcraft to trial is scheduled to be held today
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