Louise Woodward, born in 1978 (age 45–46), is a British former au pair, who at the age of 18 was charged with murder, but was subsequently convicted of the involuntary manslaughter (reduced from the jury trial verdict) of eight-month-old baby Matthew Eappen, in Newton, Massachusetts, United States of America.
The baby had died from a fractured skull and subdural hematoma, and had a previously unnoticed fractured wrist. Although, initially found guilty of second-degree murder, Judge Hiller B. Zo...
Louise Woodward, born in 1978 (age 45–46), is a British former au pair, who at the age of 18 was charged with murder, but was subsequently convicted of the involuntary manslaughter (reduced from the jury trial verdict) of eight-month-old baby Matthew Eappen, in Newton, Massachusetts, United States of America.
The baby had died from a fractured skull and subdural hematoma, and had a previously unnoticed fractured wrist. Although, initially found guilty of second-degree murder, Judge Hiller B. Zobel reduced Woodward's conviction to involuntary manslaughter during a post-conviction relief hearing, leading to her release after serving 279 days.
After her return to the United Kingdom, she began a career in law, and later ballroom and Latin dance teaching. In 2022, a Channel 4 documentary revisited the case, with a civil rights lawyer questioning the validity of the 'shaken baby syndrome' accusation.
