On this day, Feb. 9, 1997, in Newton, Mass., an 8-month old baby died after he was shaken violently by British nanny Louise Woodward.
Matthew Eappen suffered a fractured skull and brain injury.
Woodward, 19, was charged with murder, and the case created an international stir.
When the jury convicted her of second-degree murder, she screamed, "I didn't do anything ... I'm only 19!" In another dramatic move, Judge Hiller Zobel reduced her conviction to involuntary manslaughter, and sentenced her to time served. The teen returned to England and became a dance instructor.
In 2008, Woodward was named "the most notorious criminal convicted in Massachusetts" by a Boston law magazine.
-- Scott McCabe
