The Batavia woman accused of murdering her own newborn baby and storing it in an ice chest for three months has been released from jail after the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office was unable to determine whether a live birth occurred.
A charge of murder in the second degree is still pending against Christina M. Colantonio, 28, of Liberty Street, Batavia, but in a statement the office of District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said without being able to prove live birth, the prosecution is unable to make a presentation to a grand jury within the prescribed amount of time and so Colantonio is being released from custody.
"Circumstances present when the body was discovered are very indicative of the intentional homicide," Friedman's statement says. "However, in order to establish a homicide, we have to prove that a live birth occurred. Yesterday, we learned from the Monroe County Medial Examiner that, based upon their examination of the body, they were unable to conclude that a live birth occurred. This apparently is due in large part to the lengthy passage of time between delivery and discovery of the body."
In the charging document on file with Batavia City Court, some portion of the underlying evidence to sustain the charge of second-degree murder was based on statements made by Colantonio. None of those possible statements have been made public either through court documents or statements by authorities.
The DA's statement today says that Colantonio was arrested and charged after a "thorough investigation by the Batavia Police Department and included interviews with multiple witnesses."
Friedman's statement said neither he nor anyone in his office would answer media questions about the case given the fact that the murder charge is still pending and the investigation is continuing.
Colantonio was arrested Saturday and held without bail until her release today.
No date was provided for any possible future court appearance.
