Louise Woodward

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On October 30, 1997, British au pair Louise Woodward was found guilty of the baby-shaking death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen. She appealed, the conviction of second degree murder was reduced to one of involuntary manslaughter, and she was sentenced to time served and freed.

Many people in England and the United States followed the trial carefully. At first, many in England supported the young au pair and believed she didn't do it. In the United States, people were spilt on if she did or didn't do it. Many organizations supported Woodward in her cause. After she was found guilty, she broke down and cried in the courtroom.

When her sentence was reduced, Assistant District Attorney Gerald Leone (whom showed a lot of anger to Woodward and the overturned verdict), immediately called for an appeal in the state supreme court. Woodward would fight as well to have the manslaughter charge removed. In a 4-3 split decision the Supreme Court of Massachusetts confirmed the reduced conviction and sentence in June 1998, and Woodward returned to England.

When she left for England, demonstrators and reporters were waiting at the entrance of Boston's Logan Airport. Even one reporter asked her how it felt going home as a convicted felon. She was taken to a private area of the airport to wait for her flight, in which she had a first class ticket on. When the English press got a hold of that information, they turned on her. One headline even read "First Class Child Killer".

Woodward immediately gave a press conference when returning home. It was broadcast live in England and in Boston. She said that she would be giving an interview to the BBC for no money and wanted to return to her life. The interview was conducted by Martin Bashir (who also famously interviewed Michael Jackson) on the BBC television program Panorama. Many critics believed she was mimicking the style of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Nevertheless, she maintained her innocence in the interview.

Meanwhile in America, the parents of the late Matthew Eappen filed another lawsuit against her, this time in civil courts. Woodward had no plans to show up for the hearing because she did not have the money to go through with another timely lawsuit. The Eappens won the hearing easily.

After the hoopla died down, Woodward started going to school at a University in London. She recieved a law degree and passed her exams so she could practice law in England. She is now a solicitor working in Greater Manchester, England for the firm of North Ainley Halliwell. She is interested in specializing in commerical law.