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New Jersey teen opts for plea bargain in son's death
March 9, 1998
Peterson
Web posted at: 1:07 p.m. EST (1807 GMT)WILMINGTON, Delaware (CNN) -- A New Jersey teen-ager pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter and agreed to testify against his girlfriend Amy Grossberg in the death of their newborn son, who was found wrapped in plastic in a motel dumpster.
In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop murder charges against Brian Peterson, which would have carried a sentence of death by lethal injection, or life in prison. Instead, Peterson could receive up to 10 years in prison for manslaughter. No sentencing date was set.
Peterson and his former high school sweetheart are accused of killing the infant, who was found November 13, 1996, in a trash bin near the University of Delaware campus in Newark, where Grossberg was a freshman art student. Peterson was a freshman at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.
A medical examiner said the child had suffered severe head trauma.
Grossberg "Brian has explained at great length the infant didn't show any signs of life," said his attorney, Russell Gioiella. "He believed the baby was dead."
Meanwhile, Gioiella said, Grossberg was saying, "Get rid of it. Get rid of it."
"Brian had no intent to harm the baby in any way," the lawyer said.
Grossberg has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and murder by abuse or neglect.
Her attorneys already have been distancing themselves from Peterson, by requesting separate trials and saying she believed the child was stillborn. They said she played no role in disposing of the body.
Grossberg attorney Robert Tanenbaum said he still planned to go to trial with his client on May 4.
"The only thing that will give her back her life is the truth. We hope to establish that during the course of this trial," he said.
The 19-year-olds, who are from a wealthy New Jersey suburb, have been living with their families in Wyckoff, free on $300,000 bail but monitored electronically.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Teens accused of killing infant son freed on bail - January 21, 1997
- Delaware teens to be arraigned on murder charges - January 20, 1997
- Teens plead not guilty in infant death case - December 17, 1996
- College freshman surrenders in infant son's death - November 21, 1996
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