
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 31, 1995                   TAG: 9503310096
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LEESBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

JURY IN NANNY'S TRIAL OVER SHAKING DEATH HAD FAVORED ACQUITTAL

The jury that deadlocked in last week's trial of a Dutch nanny accused of fatally shaking an infant voted 7-5 to acquit her, with the majority believing the baby could have been killed by his father, several jurors said.

Jurors who voted to convict Anna-Corina Peeze of involuntary manslaughter believed she shook 8-week-old Brenton Scott Devonshire violently because she was frustrated with his crying, according to six jurors interviewed this week by The Washington Post.

But the jurors who voted to acquit Peeze, 19, argued that the father could have shaken the baby, based on the approximate time of his injuries, the jurors said.

``Daddy was alone with that baby for an hour,'' said one juror, a 34-year-old mother of two who spoke on the condition that she not be identified. ``It could go either way. The nanny could have shook him, or the father could have shook him. But I am convinced that they didn't have enough to hang the nanny.''

William O. Snead III, an attorney for Brenton's parents, said that accusations against Stephen and Sharon Devonshire, which were first made by Peeze's lawyer during the trial, are ``unfair and out of context. It is disheartening to think that any juror would have been so distracted by it.''

Three jurors who believe Peeze was guilty said it seemed unlikely the father would have grown angry enough to shake the baby in the time they were alone.

``Nothing in the testimony pointed to the father,'' said Robert D. Wright, 31, a bank vice president who lives in Sterling. ``There was no indication that he ever showed any frustration.''

Peeze is scheduled to be retried by a new jury April 20. For her to be convicted or acquitted, jurors must reach a unanimous decision.

Jurors from the first trial said a unanimous decision seemed unlikely almost as soon as the emotional, seven-hour deliberations began last Friday.

by CNB