A woman from Howard County, Maryland, was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in prison for the 2018 murder of her newborn son.
In April, 41-year-old Moira Akers, of Columbia, was found guilty of second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse by a Howard County Circuit Court jury.
On Nov. 1, 2018, Howard County police were called to Howard County General Hospital after Akers had been transported by paramedics from her home, where she had recently given birth.
According to police, Akers had not informed Fire & EMS personnel, who responded to her home and transported her to the hospital, about the birth of her newborn. Akers only disclosed the home birth after being confronted by medical personnel at the hospital.
A short time later, police investigating at Akers’ residence “located a deceased, male newborn, wrapped in towels in a Ziplock bag under a blanket in a closet with the door shut.”
The following day, the county medical examiner performed an autopsy on the deceased infant. Their report classified the death as a homicide and found the infant had been a “healthy, full-term baby and alive at birth. Cause of death was declared as asphyxiation and exposure.”
“This was truly one of the most difficult cases my office has ever had to prosecute because we had the burden of proving the baby was born alive,” said Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson after Akers was found guilty in April. “Thanks to the great work of HCPD detectives, our prosecutors, the Office of Chief Medical Examiner and other experts, we were able to prove to a jury that the egregious and unconscionable actions of Ms. Akers ultimately led to the murder of her own child.”
