Perhaps the mother is guilt-stricken and wants to take the fall?
Mom of allergic girl, 8. faces murder charges
The mother pleaded not guilty Wednesday to an upgraded charge By Frank Eltman - NBC New York
A Long Island woman accused of feeding M&Ms that
contained traces of peanuts to her disabled and allergic 8-year-old
pleaded not guilty Wednesday to an upgraded charge of second-degree
murder in the child's death.
Veronica Cirella, 31, of Plainview,
was ordered held without bail in the July 23 death of her daughter,
Julie, who was found only hours before she was set to be a flower girl
in a cousin's wedding. Cirella had previously been charged with
manslaughter.
Attorney William Keahon implored the
Nassau County judge to release his client on bail, contending an autopsy
has failed to determine a cause of death. But the judge cited Cirella's
suicide attempt the day her daughter died and the fact that Cirella is
now facing a potential life sentence as reasons to hold her in custody
until her trial.
