A Massachusetts woman who lived in a squalid, vermin-infested home where authorities found the remains of three babies was cleared Thursday of second-degree murder, but was convicted of lesser charges. Judge Janet Kenton-Walker said prosecutors did not prove that 35-year-old Erika Murray caused the death of one of the babies whom she had been charged with killing and hiding in her home filled with rodents, dead animals, dirty diapers and trash. Kenton-Walker called the case “senseless” and “tragic,” but said she had to be guided by the evidence rather than her emotions.
