Carreira used most of his windfall to pay off debts. Minutes after giving birth in a toilet stall and then allegedly choking or suffocating her 6-lb. Six months later, Drexler, now 19 and known outside her immediate circle by the tabloid sobriquet Prom Mom, is by most accounts maintaining her outward poise. Her notoriety has also led her to give up looking for a job. Drexler's defense is likely to turn on questions of whether the baby was alive at birth and the mother's state of mind.
Dissociation can become so intense that some women deny their pregnancies even to themselves.
Yes, it's hard to believe, but things happen all the time that are hard to believe. Sources say the relative weakness of the case was the primary reason the district attorney chose not to seek the death penalty. Still, few expect Markhasev to receive much sympathy from a jury in such a well-publicized case and with such a sympathetic victim. Markhasev's reported habit of making incriminating statements to his jailers will probably not help either. Verve Records has just released a jazz album produced by Bill Cosby, with part of the proceeds to benefit the foundation.