Kelsey Carpenter murder charge dropped after baby died during home birth

Prosecutors have dropped a murder charge against a California woman who was arrested after her baby died during a home birth – and she may be out of prison by January after pleading guilty to child endangerment.

Kelsey Carpenter, 34, was facing life behind bars after San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan charged her with murder “with malice” in the death of her newborn in November 2020, The Guardian reported.

A coroner ruled that the death after the home birth had been an “accident,” but attributed it to “methamphetamine and buprenorphine exposure and unattended delivery.” 

Carpenter had been in drug treatment and was prescribed buprenorphine, an addiction drug that health officials have recommended for pregnant patients with opioid use disorder, according to the outlet.

The medication is often prescribed in place of methadone for pregnant women. She told investigators she had been receiving daily treatments for methadone, the San Diego Tribune reported.

Her two previous kids were taken from her after she gave birth because each tested positive for drugs.

“I did not want to risk losing my third child to the system,” Carpenter said of her decision to deliver at home after contacting a midwife, according to the Guardian. “I love my babies and hoped to provide a sibling to them.”

But she went into labor earlier than expected and gave birth alone before losing consciousness.

When she awoke, she said she attempted CPR on her lifeless baby and called 911 before being hospitalized and then arrested.

The coroner described the tragic incident as a “perinatal death associated with methamphetamine and buprenorphine exposure and unattended delivery,” the news outlet reported.

Police and the medical examiner reportedly acknowledged that the death was “not a homicide,” and that it was not illegal to have an unattended home birth and to use buprenorphine.

Furthermore, a Yale expert who reviewed records for Carpenter’s attorneys said a rupture probably caused the death and that there was no evidence that drug use was a factor, according to The Guardian.

Last year, a new California law also determined that a person cannot be charged for conduct during pregnancy that results in miscarriages, stillbirths and perinatal deaths, described as the death of a baby between 28 weeks of gestation and before the first seven days of life.

And yet, the San Diego DA moved forward with the controversial murder charge and prosecutors focused on Carpenter’s actions after delivery – alleging she failed to secure the umbilical cord and call 911 fast enough.

An appellate court ruled in July that the state had presented “sufficient cause” to move forward – “albeit by the thinnest of margins,” the outlet reported.

Last month, Stephan dismissed the murder charge and Carpenter pleaded guilty to a single count of child endangerment. She was sentenced to two years in prison, but may be released as soon as January due to time served already, her attorneys said last week.

Carpenter spoke out from jail in March about the loss of her baby, whom she had named Keira, according to The Guardian.

“I am still stunned and horrified that a person could have the biggest tragedy of their life and lose a child who was loved and was so wanted, and then be charged with such a horrible crime,” she reportedly said.

“I had cherished the idea of this baby and was totally committed to becoming the best mother I knew how to be. I mourn every day for Kiera,” the mom added.

DA rep Tanya Sierra said in a statement Thursday that Carpenter “sought to accept responsibility for endangering her newborn resulting in death,” according to the outlet.

“In all criminal matters the District Attorney’s Office analyzes cases individually to determine whether a particular resolution serves the interests of overall justice balancing aggravating and mitigating factors, as we did in this case,” she added.

Amber Fayerberg, a consulting attorney for Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit group that represented Carpenter, welcomed news of the imminent release.

“This means she gets to start moving forward from the tragedy of losing her child and the tragedy of being wrongfully penalized by the state,” she said.

Brian White, another attorney for Carpenter, said the mom “never should’ve been charged with murder in the first place.”

He added that she hopes to earn a counseling certificate to help people struggling with addiction and that she would like to advocate for pregnant women.