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By
Baltimore Witness staff
- September 13, 2022
Court
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Homicides
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Juveniles
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Suspects
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Victims
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On Sept. 12, defense counsel for a six-year-old manslaughter case brought a motion before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Jones to discuss the modification of his client’s sentence.
On Monday, Anne Kirsch’s defense attorney, Natalie Finegar, requested to modify her client’s time served in prison from 75 years suspended all but 40 years to 13 and a half years with no modification to the years suspended.
Kirsch, 42, was convicted in November 2019 on several counts involving the death of a minor including manslaughter, first-degree child abuse resulting in death, first-degree child abuse resulting in severe physical injury, second-degree child abuse, neglect of a minor, first and second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment.
According to Fox 45 News, Kirsch was convicted in the 2015 death of her 9-day-old, heroin-addicted son. Matthew Kirsch Jr. was born on Oct. 11, 2015, in an auto repair shop where the defendant worked.
Medics were called to an address on Groveland Avenue nine days after the baby was born and discovered an unresponsive Matthew Kirsch Jr. He was later pronounced dead at Sinai Hospital.
The Baltimore City State Attorney’s Office reported an autopsy revealed the cause of death to be malnutrition and blunt force trauma.
In 2017, the baby’s father, Matthew Kirsch Sr., pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse resulting in death. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, suspending all but ten years with five years of supervised probation for failure to call the paramedics when the baby was born.
Two representatives from a re-entry a program that connects incarcerated women with resources to aid their rehabilitation provided testimonies describing the defendant’s character.
Both representatives testified to Kirsch’s emotional competence and willingness to help others during her time in the program.
The prosecution argued, however, that the defendant’s initial sentence was just, given the crime committed in this case.
Judge Jones decided not to rule on the motion immediately, requesting that the defense provide an evaluation of Kirsch for the next hearing.
The motion will remain sub-curia until Nov. 7.