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Lawyers Wrap Up In Teen's Infanticide Trial

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Nov 19, 2008 6:50 pm US/Central

Lawyers Wrap Up In Teen's Infanticide Trial

STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) ― A judge will decide the fate of an Oakdale teenager accused of stabbing her newborn daughter to death.

Nineteen-year-old Nicole Beecroft has maintained that her baby was stillborn.

But prosecutors want the judge to find Beecroft guilty of first-degree premeditated murder.

Prosecutor Heather Pipenhagen argued that Beecroft "wanted to erase this child's entire existence" and asked why would she stab the baby if the infant was already dead.

The defense argued there was reasonable doubt about whether the child was born dead or alive.

Beecroft was 17 when she was arrested in April 2007 after the baby's body was found in a garbage can outside her home. The baby had been stabbed multiple times.

Beecroft waived her right to a jury trial. Judge Mary Hannon will present her verdict Dec. 1.

If convicted, Beecroft could spend life in prison.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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