Building a SAFeR System: Preventing Tragedy in Child Custody Outcomes
By Kaitlyn Baker, Intern, National Legal Center on Children and Domestic Violence When the justice system fails to protect its…
Woman Accused Of Murdering Her Abusive Ex Goes Free After Almost Three Years Behind Bars
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Twelve jurors found Cherelle Baldwin not guilty of murder on Thursday in the death of her ex-boyfriend, Jeffrey Brown.
Baldwin collapsed to the floor in tears as the verdict was announced.
“My baby,” she cried. “My baby will have his mommy back.”
Police say Baldwin, 24, ran into Brown with her car in May 2013, pinning him against a cement wall outside her house and killing him. She was charged with murder and has been held behind bars on $1 million bail for almost three years. She maintained she was acting in self-defense.
The jury, comprising seven women and five men, deliberated for less than two full days in Baldwin’s second trial; the first resulted in a hung jury.
The murder trial highlighted the plight of domestic violence victims who commit violent acts to protect themselves from their abusers. During her testimony, Baldwin said her ex was abusive and controlling, and stalked her in the days before the fatal incident.
She told the jury that on May 18, 2013, Brown broke into her house and strangled her with his belt in front of her young baby. She fled her house without shoes, glasses or her child, she said, and he followed her to her car, where he continued his assault on her.