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Teen serves 8 months for murder

Prosecutors object to early release of mom who left newborn in trash

By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Staff Writer

Published 07/25/08

A 19-year-old girl who killed her newborn baby in 2005 and put the body in the trash outside her mother's Arnold home was released yesterday from a state juvenile facility after serving eight months for the murder.

Megan Patria, who was convicted of second-degree murder last year in juvenile court, could have served another 14 months in the Thomas J.S. Waxter Children's Center in Laurel. The state can detain defendants in juvenile cases until they are 21.

But Circuit Court Judge Nancy Davis-Loomis ordered the former Broadneck High School student's release yesterday, saying the purpose of juvenile court proceedings is to rehabilitate - not punish.

She noted several recent reports from the state's Department of Juvenile Services stating Patria, who was 17 at the time of the killing, has been rehabilitated and is ready to live with her father. Judge Davis-Loomis said she would be "abusing" her judicial discretion if she didn't follow the department's recommendation, citing a recent Court of Special Appeals opinion that found a Montgomery County judge did just that in a similar case.

Prosecutors objected to the early release, noting Patria hid her pregnancy from her parents, delivered the 8-pound baby boy by herself and eventually threw the body in the trash.

A medical examiner found that the baby died from asphyxia, either from drowning or from being left in a trash bag, and said exposure to the December weather could have contributed to his death.

"She should be detained until she is 21," Deputy State's Attorney Laura Kiessling told the court after noting Patria was only committed to Waxster's Nov. 16 - eight months and eight days ago.

"What has happened to date is simply not sufficient," Ms. Kiessling said. She argued Patria needs more inpatient rehabilitation and noted the judge has disagreed with Department of Juvenile Service reports in the past.

Howard L. Cardin, Patria's attorney, stressed his client is not a danger to society, knows what she did Dec. 3, 2005, in her mother's bathroom was wrong and has learned from the experience. He said Patria has gone as far as she can at Waxster's.

"That eight months is probably the equivalent of years of the treatment she would have received as an out patient," he said, arguing for her immediate release. He said Patria is a "mentor" at the facility and that she is taking college classes with plans to become a nurse.

For the first time, Patria addressed the court and took responsibility for the death of her son.

"I know it is my fault my son, Jordan, is not here today," she said.

Patria said she now knows she should have told her parents she was pregnant and called 911 when she went into labor.

"I didn't know I could go to them (her parents), but now I know I can," she said.

After the hearing, Mr. Cardin and four members of Patria's family declined to comment about the case.

Ms. Kiessling said she understood the judge's decision, particularly in light of the recent opinion by the Court of Special Appeals. She said that case "tied the judges hands a bit."

In that case, a Montgomery County judge refused to grant home visitation passes to a teenage girl convicted in juvenile court in 2005 of second-degree murder, despite Department of Juvenile Services reports regarding her successful rehabilitation. The judge said that in light of the seriousness of the girl's crime -- she stabbed another teen to death in a school parking lot -- she had not served enough time at Waxster's.

"(She) must be accountable. Twenty-one months in detention is woefully inadequate," the judge said.

The Court of Special Appeals, however, overturned the lower court's ruling and ordered another review hearing because the judge was concerned more with punishment than rehabilitation.

Prosecutors initially argued Patria -who delivered the child in a toilet and left him there for five to 10 minutes - should be tried as an adult. If she had been convicted of second-degree murder as an adult, Patria could have faced 30 years in prison.

In January 2007, Judge Davis-Loomis decided the case would be better handled in juvenile court.

Patria pleaded not guilty July 18, 2007 but agreed to the facts of the case. At a subsequent hearing, prosecutors and defense attorneys argued the law the facts of the case.

Ms. Kiessling said Patria never wanted the baby and was more concerned with keeping it a secret from her mother than its well-being. She noted how the baby was too big to fit in the toilet bowl and that the child would have been pressed up against Patria's legs while she sat there.

Mr. Cardin argued Patria planned to deliver the child with the help of a friend and quietly give it up for adoption. He said his client was in shock when she left the baby in the toilet.

Judge Davis-Loomis sided with the state, noting how Patria called her friends after the birth and tracked down scissors to cut the umbilical cord.

"She was able to move as she needed and accomplish what she wanted to accomplish," the judge said in August.

Judge Davis-Loomis acknowledged yesterday it is hard to separate the nature of the offense from what is to happen to the offender, but she said that must happen in juvenile cases. She said she hopes Patria has learned from what happened.

"I do not believe at this point I have any basis to say Megan is any danger to public safety," she said before ordering the release. "I think it is appropriate to take the next step in the rehabilitation process."

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Comment removed by HometownAnnapolis staff. - 2008-11-23 16:52:08

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- Karma: Neutral

Comment removed by HometownAnnapolis staff. - 2008-11-23 16:51:53

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Dont say what u dont know - 2008-11-23 14:00:17

8 months for murder.... rough timing. You dont know this girl like I do. I went to school with her, had classes, ate lunch spent time together, she is an everyday fun loving type of girl. She was a CHILD WHEN THIS HAPPENED. If you had a father in the military, mother working for police department, and on top of that the entire school and faculty on her case about the pregnancy, how can you even function? She couldnt make her own decision without someone hassling her 24/7. This is a girl who was devoted to her friends, always there for others, fun sweet young girl. Not a girl out to kill anyone standing in front of her.I would like to see any other 16-17 yr old dealing with pregnancy handle things on their own in the world she lives in. Stop talking so much crap about someone you dont know. You were not in the court room, you never met her, you werent there to help her, so you have the nerve to decide what she does or doesnt deserve?? I think not...

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Michelle S. - arnold, MD - Karma: Bad

Unfair Headline - 2008-07-25 20:49:12

C. Flohr, can you explain what is so unfair about this headline? Did she serve 8 months of her sentence? YES. Did she murder her child? YES. If anyone should be ashamed, it should be the murderer and Judge Davis-Loomis.

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Marsha Moore - Sterling, VA - Karma: Neutral

This is a crock - 2008-07-25 20:42:53

If this child was so sick why was she able to successfully hide the pregnancy, deliver the kid, cut the cord and then kill it?

This is an atrocity and sends the signal that you can get away with anything.

All the talk about the precedent in the other County is bullcrap. You try a case on it's own merits and Davis-Loomis should be ashamed.

This kid caught a break by being tried as a juvenile and got less than 2 years in a juvenile facility as opposed to 30 years.

8 months, that is less time than she took to conceive, carry and kill her own son.

http://arundelcrime.blogspot.com

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J. F - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Bad

Unfair Headline - 2008-07-25 18:14:40

Your paper should be ashamed - you baited this story for the comment made above me. This is a sick CHILD who does not have the same maturity and decision making skills of an adult. Judge Davis-Loomis was right and courageous for what she did.

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Chris Flohr - Severna Park, MD - Karma: Bad

8 Months for Murder? - 2008-07-25 17:17:21

What a joke! It's really sad that this girl has only served 8 months for killing her child and putting it in the trash. At the minimum, she should have been held until she reached 21.

As the Bible states: "You reap what you sow."

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M. Moore - Sterling, VA - Karma: Neutral