MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) – An unwed mother who prosecutors say drowned her newborn son out of embarrassment and then dumped his body in a Long Island Rail Road station garbage can has been convicted of manslaughter.
Erma Stephens, 35, was acquitted of murder in a bench trial conducted by Nassau County Court Judge George Peck.
The judge also found Stephens guilty of tampering with evidence.
Stephens was arrested in December 2006 after her baby was discovered in a trash bag on the platform of the Hicksville railroad station and detectives saw her on video surveillance tapes. Prosecutors say Stephens killed the baby because he was born outside marriage.
Stephens faces up to 15 years in prison when she is sentenced in January.
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