NEW CASTLE Woman is sentenced for hiding baby's body

The woman contends she hid her pregnancy because her husband wanted no more children.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A woman who hid the body of a stillborn child in her closet for nearly three months will spend 30 days on house arrest followed by four years and 11 months' probation.
Judge Dominick Motto sentenced Amy Page, 33, of New Butler Road on Tuesday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court. In July, she pleaded guilty to concealing the death of a child.
Mental disorders
Page told the judge she suffers from depression, panic disorder and agoraphobia -- a fear of being in open or public places -- and is taking several medications as part of her treatment.
Her attorney, public defender Ken Kasenter, asked the judge for probation or house arrest so his client could continue to receive treatment.
"This is not a crime of violence. I know it's a crime that offends society, but it was a crime of panic. A crime of bad judgment," Kasenter said.
Page was arrested in December after her husband turned over the child's body to police.
According to court papers, Page hid the pregnancy from her husband and contends the baby was stillborn when she gave birth at home in August 2002. She said she panicked and wrapped the baby in plastic and put the body in a closet.
Charge dismissed
Page had also been charged with abuse of a corpse, but that charge was dismissed in exchange for her guilty plea.
Assistant District Attorney John Bongivengo asked the judge for jail time.
Page, who has two other children, ages 13 and 14, told the judge she hid her pregnancy because her husband wanted no more children.
"I thought I could hide it and give it up for adoption," she said.
Kasenter noted that Page was forthcoming to the police when talking about the crime.
Bad judgment
"Unlike other cases we have seen, she did not dispose of the body in the woods or garbage. I tend to find the defendant credible. Obviously this was bad judgment, but her judgment may have been affected by her mental health issues," the judge said.
Page was also ordered to keep all scheduled appointments with her psychiatrist and take all prescribed medications.