Woman Accused of Murdering Her Baby Has Her Trial Postponed

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The jury trial for a 26-year-old mother charged with the murder of her baby was postponed on March 15, due to new defense counsel having recently been assigned to the case.

Shakira Shaw’s seven-day trial was scheduled to begin on Wednesday before Baltimore Circuit Court City Judge Althea Handy. However, the case was sent to reception court, where Judge Melissa Copeland scheduled the case to return to reception court on March 22.

Defense attorneys Stephanie Salter and Janine Meckler were recently assigned to Shaw’s case on Feb. 13, according to the Maryland Judiciary website, with a motion to compel discovery filed on Feb. 22.

This case stems from an incident on Dec. 28, 2019, when Shaw’s one-year-old son, Kaleb Shaw, was found unresponsive in their home. Although an autopsy revealed Kaleb died from natural causes, Shaw reportedly called the police on Oct. 8, 2020, and confessed that voices told her to kill her child.

Shaw, who was initially found incompetent to stand trial, was later found competent on Nov. 17, 2021.

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