WOODLAND — The Woodland woman accused of murdering her infant son appeared briefly Monday in Yolo Superior Court, but only to have a new court date set.
Yolo County Public Defender Tracie Olson, the lead attorney for 23-year-old Samantha Green, said it’s “still unclear” whether her office has received all the discovery prosecutors have collected and requested two more weeks to see where the case stands.
Judge David Rosenberg scheduled a pre-hearing conference for April 13. In the meantime, Deputy District Attorney Ryan Couzens said he would meet with Olson to discuss the discovery issues.
Previously charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Feb. 24 death of 3-week-old Justice Rees, Green now faces a murder count after prosecutors announced in court earlier this month that they’ve received “new information” supporting the more serious charge.
Prior to the criminal complaint being amended, Green had planned to plead no contest to both involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment for a maximum 13-year prison term. Now, she faces an indeterminate life sentence.
Her attorneys, who unsuccessfully argued that the DA’s office engaged in “vindictive prosecution” by filing the murder charge, later filed a discovery request seeking all reports, emails and verbal communications exchanged between the DA’s office and law enforcement agencies from March 4, when Green was arraigned for involuntary manslaughter, and March 10, when prosecutors sought the murder count.
Searchers discovered Justice’s body near Ridge Cut Slough in Knights Landing on Feb. 25, a day after Green was found in the same area, distraught and claiming she and the infant had been kidnapped. Yolo County sheriff’s detectives were unable to substantiate her story, however, and placed Green under arrest.
She is being held without bail at the Yolo County Jail.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene