InForum News
Woman charged in unborn baby’s death Associated Press
Published Friday, October 12, 2007
GARRISON, N.D. – A woman here is accused of causing the death of her unborn child by overdosing on prescription drugs.
Michelle Geiser, 32, is charged with felony endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult, felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor ingestion of a controlled substance. She faces up to 26 years in prison if convicted.
South Central District Judge David Reich set bond at $10,000 cash, McLean County State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson said. Geiser did not immediately post the bond and remained in custody. Her next court appearance is set for Nov. 21 in Washburn.
Geiser’s court-appointed attorney, Thomas Glass of Bismarck, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment on Thursday.
Court documents say an ambulance crew on Sept. 24 responded to a report of an unresponsive female in the home where Geiser lived with her elderly father. The crew found a semiconscious Geiser, who also is known as Michelle Behles, and bottles for the prescription pain drugs hydrocodene, locet and cyclobenazeprine.
Geiser is accused of possessing and ingesting those drugs, as well as the muscle relaxant tizanidine, without valid prescriptions, according to the complaint against her. Erickson said authorities were still investigating how Geiser obtained the drugs.
“It was turned over to the narcotics people in Burleigh (County),” he said.
An ultrasound performed when Geiser arrived at a Bismarck hospital showed the baby she was carrying had no heartbeat, court documents say. William Massello, the state medical examiner, performed an autopsy on the child and concluded that the baby could have lived outside the womb with assistance.
An affidavit from McLean County Sheriff’s Deputy Sam Lincoln says a doctor at the hospital found that Geiser had toxic levels of several drugs in her system, and the baby, which was more than seven months along, did not survive the overdose.
Erickson said it is not clear if Geiser’s alleged overdose was accidental or intentional.
“I don’t know if we’re going to be able to determine if she just went too far,” he said.
Erickson said North Dakota law does not allow prosecutors to charge a pregnant woman with attempted murder of an unborn child.
Authorities said Geiser has a history of crimes involving prescription drugs, and once served time in a Minnesota prison.
Published Friday, October 12, 2007
GARRISON, N.D. – A woman here is accused of causing the death of her unborn child by overdosing on prescription drugs.
Michelle Geiser, 32, is charged with felony endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult, felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor ingestion of a controlled substance. She faces up to 26 years in prison if convicted.
South Central District Judge David Reich set bond at $10,000 cash, McLean County State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson said. Geiser did not immediately post the bond and remained in custody. Her next court appearance is set for Nov. 21 in Washburn.
Geiser’s court-appointed attorney, Thomas Glass of Bismarck, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment on Thursday.
Court documents say an ambulance crew on Sept. 24 responded to a report of an unresponsive female in the home where Geiser lived with her elderly father. The crew found a semiconscious Geiser, who also is known as Michelle Behles, and bottles for the prescription pain drugs hydrocodene, locet and cyclobenazeprine.
Geiser is accused of possessing and ingesting those drugs, as well as the muscle relaxant tizanidine, without valid prescriptions, according to the complaint against her. Erickson said authorities were still investigating how Geiser obtained the drugs.
“It was turned over to the narcotics people in Burleigh (County),” he said.
An ultrasound performed when Geiser arrived at a Bismarck hospital showed the baby she was carrying had no heartbeat, court documents say. William Massello, the state medical examiner, performed an autopsy on the child and concluded that the baby could have lived outside the womb with assistance.
An affidavit from McLean County Sheriff’s Deputy Sam Lincoln says a doctor at the hospital found that Geiser had toxic levels of several drugs in her system, and the baby, which was more than seven months along, did not survive the overdose.
Erickson said it is not clear if Geiser’s alleged overdose was accidental or intentional.
“I don’t know if we’re going to be able to determine if she just went too far,” he said.
Erickson said North Dakota law does not allow prosecutors to charge a pregnant woman with attempted murder of an unborn child.
Authorities said Geiser has a history of crimes involving prescription drugs, and once served time in a Minnesota prison.
