A mother jailed for more than three years when her baby died after giving birth in a shop bathroom has been freed from prison and cleared of murder.
Dafne McPherson was found guilty of killing her newborn daughter in 2015 and sentenced to 16 years in jail despite her lawyers claiming a lack of scientific evidence and no proper investigation being launched.
Following her release, the 28-year-old, who has a nine-year-old daughter, told reporters: “I will finally hug my daughter.”
She added: “I have those years stolen but it made me stronger, harder. I do not feel fragile any more and I have learned to take care of myself. Now I am not scared of anything.”
She gave birth in the restrooms of the Liverpool store in Queretaro, central Mexico, in February 2015 but the baby died. It was subsequently revealed McPherson suffered from hypothyroidism and was unaware she was eight months pregnant.
Her lawyers claimed the process was full of irregularities and the judge of a new trial, Leon Guerrero, said the original prosecution had not presented evidence to show she knew of her pregnancy or that she had tried to kill her daughter.
The store’s management were also accused of not allowing Red Cross staff inside the premises to treat the mother, with only a shop nurse to attend to her and private paramedics reacting only hours later.
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Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
