Balto. Co. Couple To Be Sentenced In Son's Death

Three-year-old From Rodgers Forge Died Of Starvation In 2007

Felter said she many other residents "had to chase them off our front porches" after the kids had been caught "looking in the windows." In retrospect, she said, "I am shocked that I let myself get caught up in my own life and ignored these children screaming for help."

Only once was the Baltimore County Department of Social Services summoned to look into the family's affairs, said Maureen Robinson, a spokeswoman for the agency. It was just after Andrew's birth, on Feb. 20, 2005, at St. Joseph Medical Center, when hospital staff detected amphetamines in Susan Griffin's body, though none in the child's. In addition, Robinson said, two of the Griffins' older children who went to visit their new sibling "appeared disheveled" at the hospital, as did their mother. No action was taken, Robinson said, but because the family's file was purged from the DSS records, she could not say why.

Susan Griffin has been in jail since her arrest, while her husband was released on bail. In court during their trial, the couple barely spoke to one another. When she tried to speak with him at one point, he ignored her. From the witness stand, John Griffin gave the clear impression that he believed his wife was fully responsible for their son's death.

The judge, Timothy J. Martin, didn't buy it. He said they were both to blame, even if, he surmised, it was the mother who committed the physical abuse.

Her legs shackled, she had spent much of the weeklong trial with furrowed brow, to all appearances confused by the testimony about Andrew's blood on the ceiling, on the walls, on her curling iron, about the bruises and cuts. Evidence of the abuse lay in a heap on a table in the courtroom - the child's bassinet cover, a blue blanket, baby clothes - all spattered with blood.

In a videotaped police interview that was played in court, Susan Griffin had an explanation. "Andrew had nosebleeds," she said, "because it's dry in the house."