Biddle v. Commonwealth
Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia
141 S.E.2d 710 (1965)
Biddle (defendant) was convicted of first-degree murder after her infant died severely dehydrated and malnourished, having lost over a pound since birth. Police found ample food in the home but also found another young child in soiled, neglected conditions. Biddle testified she fed the baby daily, that the baby sometimes wouldn't finish her milk, and that she loved and treated the baby the same as her other children; evidence also showed her husband accused her of having the children by other men, and the baby's feeding seemed to track the state of that relationship. Biddle was convicted and sentenced to 20 years, and she appealed the sufficiency of the evidence for murder.
Whether, under Virginia law, a caregiver's omission causing death constitutes manslaughter rather than murder when the omission stems from negligence rather than a willful and malicious failure to perform a duty.