Judge Weighs Delay in Winters Case

A judge is considering whether a 26-year delay in charging a north country woman with the 1980 death of her 5-month-old son jeopardizes the woman’s right to a fair trial.

During a three-hour hearing, defense attorney Ken Moynihan tried to persuade the judge that the delay was unreasonable.

Moynihan is arguing that three medical examiners previously reviewed Shirley Winters’ case and determined her baby died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Prosecutors, however, say they didn’t have enough evidence to charge Winters with murder until 2006.

Onondaga County Court Judge Joseph Fahey says he will issue his decision on April 25.

Winters is also a suspect in the death of two of her other children in a fire in Jefferson County in the late 1970s, and is scheduled to stand trial for the death of a friend’s grandchild last year in St. Lawrence County.