KADEN OSBURN - 3 months - Cassopolis MI

Mother pleads guilty to killing her child
Osburn scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 14

DEBRA HAIGHT
South Bend Tribune Correspondent
10:46 a.m. EDT, September 28, 2011

CASSOPOLIS — An area mother will be sentenced next month for killing her infant daughter in June, 2010.

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said this week that Angelique Osburn pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge earlier this month and will be sentenced in Cass Circuit Court Oct. 14. She had been set to go to trial Oct. 11.

Osburn, 21 at the time of the incident, was arrested in the fall of 2010 on a charge of open murder in connection with the death of her 3-month-old daughter. The little girl, Kaden, died June 18, 2010 of severe head injuries.

Osburn lived in rural Silver Creek Township in Cass County at the time of her daughter's death although she had an Eau Claire mailing address.

She was not charged initially after her daughter's death because of having to wait for autopsy results. Her trial in Cass Circuit Court had been delayed over the months because of forensic examinations to test for competency and for a change in attorneys.

Fitz said this week that a state forensics examiner had found Osburn competent to stand trial and that a private expert hired at the request of the defense to see if she could be held criminally responsible for her actions had found that she was not criminally insane and could stand trial.

He said the open murder charge can include everything from manslaughter to first-degree murder. In this case, manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

"This agreement insures that she serves a minimum of six years for causing the death of this child," Fitz said. "Hers were the actions of a very immature young woman."

Fitz said again this week that the investigation into Kaden's death indicated that it was Osburn who was the culpable party in the infant's death and not anyone else.

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Mother sentenced in baby's death
Osburn to serve at least six years on manslaughter conviction


TOM MOOR
South Bend Tribune Staff Writer
1:51 p.m. EDT, October 14, 2011

CASSOPOLIS — The tragic story chronicling the abuse 3-month-old Kaden Osburn endured prior to her death brought out emotion — and for some, tears — inside a Cass County courtroom Friday morning.

That included Kaden’s 22-year-old mother, Angelique Osburn, accused of causing the infant’s death in June 2010 at their home in Silver Creek Township near Eau Claire.

Cass County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Frank Machnik said during Osburn’s sentencing Friday that the infant was subjected to six weeks of shaking at the hands of her mother, ultimately leading to bleeding in the brain and severe head injuries, which caused the death.

After months of negotiating between the defense and prosecution, Cass County Circuit Court Judge Michael Dodge agreed on Friday to accept a plea deal, sentencing the woman to six to 15 years in prison, with credit for 347 days served, on the charge of open murder, manslaughter.

Of the crime, Machnik said: "It was nothing less than torture. She (Kaden) had both old and new injuries."

Kaden also had a bruise on the back of her head, he said. Osburn also is accused of throwing her daughter at her boyfriend and banging the infant’s head up against a door frame. The most recent injury occurred about 12 hours before her death, Machnik said.

Osburn pleaded guilty last month. During the negotiating, the defense and prosecution agreed to charge Osburn with open murder, manslaughter, and not first- or second-degree murder, which also could have been pursued under the open murder charge.

Dodge, Machnik and defense attorney Dale Blunier each called Osburn emotionally immature and not ready for the responsibility that came with raising a baby.

"If she had to do it over again, she would have put her up for adoption," Blunier said. "She will spend the rest of her life with this."

Blunier called the case one of the toughest he’s had to represent.

Osburn, wearing and an orange jail jumpsuit, made a brief statement Friday, saying: "I love my daughter with all my heart. ... I’m just really sorry."

Dodge, in accepting the plea deal, agreed to deviate above the normal sentencing guidelines of 29 to 57 months for manslaughter.

Dodge accused Osburn of gross negligence and called the death "tragic."

"You failed to appreciate the way you should handle your daughter," said Dodge, who later added: "She could not protect herself."

As to why a manslaughter plea deal was reached, Machnik said in court the defendant had a difficult time caring for her daughter, which led her to think about adoption.

"It was physically, emotionally exhausting for her," he said. "Overwhelming."

Although Kaden died June 18, Osburn was not charged criminally until last November.

A state-appointed and independent psychologist both found Osburn sane to stand trial had the defense chosen that avenue.

Blunier filed a motion earlier this year to seek the independent examiner. At the time the defense was looking into a possible not guilty plea for reasons of insanity related to postpartum depression and possibly other medical conditions.


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