Baby Shannon trials planned for July
May 03, 2010 07:38:00 PM
Both women accused in last year’s disappearance of 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick will face trial in July, a prosecutor said Monday. Susan Baker and Crystina Mercer each had pretrial hearings Monday in Chipley, according to Washington County court records. Prosecutor Greg Wilson said the court set another pretrial hearing for July 9, and the trial will follow soon after.
Baker faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted. She was charged with child abuse, giving false information to law enforcement and interfering with child custody in November, after a Washington County sheriff’s deputy found the baby hidden in a wooden box under a bed in her home.
Searchers had been looking for the baby for several days after Mercer reported her missing Halloween night.
Mercer was charged with giving false information and making a false 911 call, but Wilson has said he isn’t sure if she secretly gave up her baby as charged, or if Baker kidnapped the child.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/trial...sed-women.html