Murder charge dropped against Irish nanny in girl’s death

BOSTON — A lawyer for an Irish nanny who was accused of killing a 1-year-old girl in her care and served more than two years in prison only to have a murder charge against her dropped on Monday called the prosecution a “complete disgrace” and a “rush to judgment.”

Melinda Thompson said 37-year-old Aisling Brady McCarthy “can’t stop crying out of joy” but still faces uncertainty because federal immigration authorities want to detain her.

“It was a tragedy that a child died, but, quite frankly, the way this prosecution was handled was a complete disgrace,” Thompson said hours after Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan dropped a first-degree murder charge against McCarthy, who remains at an undisclosed location.

Thompson said McCarthy hopes to rebuild her life and her credibility and hasn’t ruled out legal action against prosecutors.

“This was an absolute nightmare,” Thompson said of her client’s time in prison. “It changes a person. She can’t get those years back.”

McCarthy was accused of killing Rehma Sabir in Cambridge in January 2013. She had been the girl’s nanny for about six months.

McCarthy, an Irish national now married to a Boston-area man, traveled to the United States about 13 years ago under a visa waiver program that entitled her to stay 90 days.

She had been in prison from the time of her 2013 arrest until May, when she was released on bail and ordered to wear a GPS monitor while awaiting an October trial.

Monday’s announcement by prosecutors came after a state medical examiner reversed an earlier decision declaring the death a homicide caused by shaken baby syndrome.

McCarthy had insisted she was innocent, and her lawyers vigorously challenged the medical examiner’s findings that Rehma died of complications of blunt-force head injuries.

The office issued an amended ruling changing the manner of death to “undetermined” after reviewing additional materials, including expert witness reports, transcripts of police interviews and grand jury testimony, additional medical records and lab testing.

The report notes Rehma had a history of bruising and suggests she may have been prone to easy bleeding with relatively minor trauma because of an undiagnosed disorder.

“Given these uncertainties, I am no longer convinced that the subdural hemorrhage in this case could only have been caused by abusive/inflicted head trauma, and I can no longer rule the manner of death as a homicide,” the medical examiner wrote, according to excerpts contained in Ryan’s Monday announcement.

“I believe that enough evidence has been presented to raise the possibility that the bleeding could have been related to an accidental injury in a child with a bleeding risk or possibly could have even been a result of an undefined natural disease,” the report continues. “As such I am amending the cause and manner of death to reflect this uncertainty.”

The Rev. Kevin Fay, a priest in McCarthy’s hometown of Lavey in Ireland, told The Boston Globe, “It’s fantastic news, just fantastic news.

“We all know the family very well,” he said. “There’s a sense of great relief for everybody,” Fay said.

Monday’s ruling is at least the second time in recent years that Middlesex prosecutors dropped charges in a murder case alleging a baby was shaken. In September 2014, they dropped charges against a father accused of killing his 6-month-old son in 2010. The state medical examiner said the manner of death could not be determined after the father’ lawyers discovered the family’s medical history included a rare genetic vulnerability to ruptured arteries or veins.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.