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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, January 19, 2006

Mom arrested three years after baby dies

Advertiser Staff

The mother of a 5-month old infant who died three years ago at Pearl Harbor has been arrested following the mother's confession and amended autopsy findings.

Nina Manning, 25, was arrested in Akron, Ohio, Friday, based on a federal warrant issued here, and was awaiting extradition.

An autopsy performed on Jasmine M. Manning on Oct. 1, 2002, the day after the girl's mother reported finding her unresponsive in her crib, concluded the baby died from pneumonia and listed the "manner of death as natural."

Dr. Mary Flynn, a forensic pathologist at the medical examiner's office, performed the first autopsy and based her report on the information available at the time. On Oct. 26, 2005, the city Department of the Medical Examiner amended its earlier findings and now believes the baby's mother suffocated her, according to documents on file at the medical examiner's office.

On Sept. 7, 2005, a letter from Assistant U.S. Attorney Loretta Sheehan was delivered to Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kanthi De Alwis requesting that she and Flynn watch a videotape that accompanied the letter.

The videotape was made by Navy investigators on June 20, 2005, when they interviewed Nina Manning about her daughter's death.

In a third amendment to the original autopsy report, Flynn stated she was unaware of the video until she viewed it with De Alwis on Sept. 28. In the newly amended autopsy report, dated Oct. 26, 2005, Flynn said the videotape shows Nina Manning admitting suffocating her daughter.

"She relates that she covered the baby's mouth and nose with her hand until the baby went limp," Flynn said in the amended autopsy report.

Flynn said that in the videotape, Manning tells the naval investigators that on the evening before her death, the baby had been crying a great deal and that Manning became upset and had no one to call.

Flynn said the tape shows Manning telling the investigators that she held her daughter by the head with her feet dangling and that when she let go, "red lines and fingerprints were left on the baby's cheek and the baby had turned blue around the nose."

Flynn said the mother can been seen on the videotape telling investigators she tried "revival techniques" including breathing into the baby's mouth and pushing on her chest.

The mother told investigators she put her daughter in a closet and did not check on her until it was feeding time, Flynn said.

She said the mother told investigators she checked on the baby later and found her cold to the touch. The mother told investigators she placed a ripped plastic bag in the crib, placed the baby face down in the crib and called investigators, Flynn said.

The mother originally told investigators her daughter was well when she put her to bed, but that she found her cold and lifeless six hours later.