Marylinn Feher is a killer from Wisconsin who was convicted in the murder of her newborn
According to court documents Marylinn Feher would give birth to a boy and would immediately strangled the newborn and bashed his head on a toilet. The newborn would be wrapped in blankets and placed into a plastic bag before being moved to a car in which he was later found
Marylinn Feher would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for thirty years
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A 24-year-old Milladore woman convicted of killing her baby moments after he was born was sentenced Wednesday in Wood County Circuit Court to life in prison.
Marylinn A. Feher pleaded guilty Sept. 30 to first-degree intentional homicide. Wood County Circuit Judge Todd Wolf sentenced her Wednesday afternoon.
Wolf ruled that Feher can apply for release after she has served 30 years in prison. Feher received credit for 606 days already served and the earliest date she could be released is April 6, 2049.
Feher gave birth to her son, Zachariah, while sitting on a bathroom toilet. She then put her hands around the newborn’s throat and strangled him, then hit his head on the toilet, Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert said.
“All he ever knew was fear and pain from the moment he was born,” Lambert said.
Allen L. Rice, 21, of Milladore, the baby’s father, is charged with neglecting a child resulting in death and obstructing an officer in connection with the boy’s death. He is scheduled for a plea hearing on Dec. 11.
Rice appeared by telephone for Feher’s sentencing and spoke to the judge about how his son’s death has affected him.
“When you shut that door, you chose to take a life,” Rice said.
He said he grabbed the baby from the toilet and Feher told him to take the baby to the car. He said Feher lied to him and he regrets listening to her.
“I don’t have memories of my son,” Rice said. “I won’t get to see his first steps, and I won’t get to take him to school.”
He told Feher that someday he might forgive her.
Feher, who was shackled, handcuffed and wearing an orange jail uniform and white face mask during the sentencing chose not to make a statement. She kept her head down during most of the sentencing, and her sobs could be heard throughout Rice’s statement and much of the proceedings.
According to the criminal complaint, shortly before 10 a.m. April 6, 2019, Marshfield Medical Center staff notified police that Feher was in the hospital for severe bleeding and appeared to have had a baby, but she denied giving birth.
Police talked to Rice, who said a friend drove Feher to the hospital because Rice was working. Rice said he got a ride to the hospital from a coworker. He also denied knowledge of a baby being born, according to the complaint.
Police then found Rice’s vehicle in the parking lot and confronted him, at which point he told officers he lied because he was afraid and that the baby was stillborn, according to court documents.
Police found the newborn baby in Rice’s vehicle. The infant boy was wrapped in towels and in a tied plastic garbage bag, according to court documents. They took the baby into Marshfield Medical Center, where he died at 4:16 p.m. that day.
Rice and Feher later told police they heard a noise coming from the back of the vehicle as they drove to the hospital after she gave birth, and Rice said he tried to perform CPR on the boy and heard what sounded like a burp, according to the criminal complaint
An autopsy showed the infant died of head injuries and strangulation.
“In all my years, this is one of the most horrible cases I’ve dealt with,” Lambert said.
The case affected the officers and medical staff who had to deal with it, Lambert said. Everyone who dealt with Zachariah loved the baby more than his own parents, Lambert said.
Lambert asked Wolf to sentenced Feher to life in prison with no possibility of release.
Michael Covey, Feher’s attorney, said Feher’s killing of the baby was an “evil act.” However, he said Feher isn’t just that one act. Feher has no criminal record and held a job from March 2015 until April 2019, basically her whole adult life, Covey said.
Marylinn Feher’s parents and two grandparents wrote letters in support of her. The letters showed Feher was brave, kind and helped people while growing up, Covey said. Although they don’t understand what she did, Feher’s family is showing support for her and will be there to help her, if she gets out of prison, Covey said.
Marylinn Feher takes full responsibility for her actions and wants to make it clear Rice did not kill the baby, Covey said. She is embarrassed and sad about what she did, he said.
Wolf told Marylinn Feher that she had to have known she was pregnant, but, instead of asking for help and getting prenatal care, she hid the pregnancy. Feher went and got medical assistance for herself, Wolf said. If she hadn’t, it’s unlikely she ever would have told anyone about the baby, Wolf said.