Andee R. Wright, a 33-year-old mother from the Town of Tonawanda, was sentenced Thursday to 18 years to life in prison for the 2nd degree murder of her newborn son. The sentence was handed down by Acting Erie County Court Judge Andrew LoTempio who presided over Wright's retrial.
Wright was convicted by a jury in June after they found she intentionally killed her newborn in October of 2020. The conviction came after a previous trial ended in December with a mistrial after the jury was deadlocked after four days of deliberations. In this retrial, the jury reached a verdict in less than two hours.
Defense attorney Paul G. Dell expressed disappointment with the sentence, stating that Wright plans to appeal the conviction. Dell filed a motion requesting Judge LoTempio overturn the jury's June verdict, which delayed Wright's initial sentencing date of September 19th. However, Judge LoTempio denied that motion.
According to prosecutors, Wright gave birth to the child on a toilet in October 2020 and then proceeded to fracture his skull before placing him in a basement trash can. The baby was 38-weeks when born.
The defense, on the other hand, argued that the baby was stillborn and that Wright, unaware of her pregnancy, panicked and disposed of the body after losing a significant amount of blood.
Throughout the trial, both prosecutors and defense lawyers worked to discredit the testimony of medical experts. Prosecutors presented autopsy reports from the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office, which they claimed provided evidence that the baby had been born alive.
The reports included microscopic images of expanded lung tissue, images of bleeding on the baby's brain, and apparent bruising and blood on the baby's head. Erie County Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Schnirel urged the jurors to examine these images and decide for themselves whether they saw signs of bruising and bleeding, which do not occur after death.
Paul Dell, Wright's attorney, focused on the language used by prosecution experts claiming that it left room for doubt regarding their interpretations. He pointed out that the phrase "more likely than not" was used in the Medical Examiner's Office conclusions, suggesting uncertainty. Dell argued that the prosecution was asking the jurors to speculate and guess that these circumstances amounted to murder.
Schnirel also sought to discredit the defense's medical experts, particularly Dr. Jane Turner, who testified that the baby likely died in utero. Schnirel pointed out inconsistencies in Turner's reports and characterized her answers as vague.
During the trial, the prosecution emphasized Wright's drug and alcohol use around the time of the incident suggesting that it reflected her character as a bad mother. Dell dismissed this argument as speculative and urged the jurors to consider it as nothing more than background noise. Furthermore, Dell argued that this information was being brought up to do nothing more than prejudice Wright.
In his closing statement, Dell reminded the jurors that only Wright knows exactly what happened that night and that she had told authorities the baby was not alive when he was born. He described the situation as a tragedy and warned against wrongfully convicting Andee Wright, which he believed would be another tragedy.
Despite the defense's arguments, the jury ultimately found Wright guilty of second-degree murder. The verdict has left both the defense and Wright's attorney shocked, with Dell announcing plans to appeal the decision.
Wright had been out on bail since her indictment in September 2021 and remained free during both trials until her conviction on June 18th.
Mother Sentenced to 18 Years to Life for Murdering Newborn Son