ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — An attempted murder charge has been dropped against a North Carolina woman who authorities accused of faking her infant daughter’s kidnapping and trying to kill her.
Krista Noelle Madden was charged with first-degree attempted murder after her infant daughter was found 30 feet down a steep, heavily forested ravine in Henderson County on May 9, 2019, the Asheville Citizen Times reported.
Sean Devereux, Madden’s attorney, said this week that psychological evaluations showed Madden was going through acute postpartum depression, as well as sleep deprivation, that resulted in a psychotic episode. Madden believed someone was going to harm her baby, so she drove to a rural area of the county and placed the baby at the bottom of an embankment, Devereux said.
Devereux said his client has since gone through extensive medical treatment and counseling and has fully recovered.
The attempted murder charge was dropped, but under the agreement, Madden has to comply with conditions, including that she not get in any more legal trouble for a period of two years from the time of the judge’s order. If she does not comply, Madden will be charged with a felony for filing a false police report, according to Henderson County District Attorney Andrew Murray.
