BREAKING: No criminal charges in case of baby's body found in apartment on Liberty Street

Christina M. Colantonio, the 28-year-old Liberty Street resident whose baby was found dead in her apartment and was initially charged with murder in the second degree, won't be prosecuted, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman announced.

A second autopsy has concluded the baby was most likely stillborn and was not deliberately killed by Colantino.

UPDATE: Here's the press release from Friedman's Office.

On August 29, 2015 Christina Colantonio was arrested on a charge of Murder in the second degree. The decision to file that charge at that time was based on a number of factors, including the following:

1.       Discovery of the remains of what could be a dead newborn baby in a cooler in the bathroom closet of the Defendant’s residence.

2.       Multiple statements made by the defendant which were inconsistent with each other.

3.       Statements made by the defendant which were inconsistent with physical evidence at the scene.

4.       The fact that no one else was present at the time of the defendant’s delivery of the baby and the events that occurred immediately thereafter.

5.       The fact that the defendant did not seek medical assistance for the baby.

6.       The Medical Examiner reported that a wad of paper was recovered from the baby’s oral cavity.

7.       The Medical Examiner advised us that they could not think of any natural or accidental reason that the paper would be placed in the mouth.

8.       Witness reports that raised serious concerns regarding prior acts of the Defendant.

9.       Concrete steps taken by the Defendant that led to the conclusion that she was preparing to flee the jurisdiction, as follows:

a.       Immediately after her initial interview by the police, and reportedly without ever having previously done so, the Defendant failed to show up for work without calling in.

b.      It was reported that the Defendant did not go home that night.

c.       The next day, it was discovered that the Defendant had given her car away to a friend who claimed to not know the Defendant’s whereabouts.

d.      Initial attempts to locate the Defendant were unsuccessful.

After it was determined that the Medical Examiner could not determine whether or not a live birth had occurred and, if it had been a live birth, they could not determine a cause of death, consultation was obtained from a pathologist who practices and is board-certified in pediatric, perinatal and forensic pathology. The pathologist, who reviewed some autopsy photos, a preliminary copy of the autopsy report, and some microscopic slides provided by the Medical Examiner’s Office, concluded that the baby was most likely stillborn, and that the baby most likely had a congenital malformation or deformation involving the midface. The pathologist, however, was not provided with sufficient information with which to determine the significance of what was recovered from the baby’s mouth.

Therefore, based on the information available to us at this time, it has been determined that a homicide prosecution is not appropriate.  Pursuant to our request, the murder charge has been dismissed by the Batavia City Court.

We expect that there may be an interest in obtaining more details regarding some of the facts listed above. However, in limiting our disclosures to what is listed above, we are balancing the public’s desire to receive information regarding this case with the legitimate privacy rights of an individual who is not going to be prosecuted. Therefore, (there) will be no further comments regarding this matter and no additional information will be released by this Office.