Woman Who Gave Birth, Killed Her Baby at Prom Gets 15 Years

FREEHOLD, N.J. — A young woman who gave birth in the bathroom at her senior prom, strangled the baby and then returned to the dance floor was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday.

Under a plea bargain, 20-year-old Melissa Drexler received the maximum sentence but could be released in slightly less than three years.

“I’d like to tell you I’m really, truly sorry for what I’ve done, OK?” said a tearful and disheveled Drexler, who pleaded guilty in August to aggravated manslaughter.

Superior Court Judge John A. Ricciardi called Drexler’s actions “explainable but not excusable.”

“She is not a monster. She is not someone to be gawked at, to be vilified by the public and the media. She is entitled to our understanding, our compassion and our prayers,” he said.

Drexler’s lawyer, Steven Secare, said the circumstances will “obviously never occur again.” He said she has a developmental and learning disability and was in denial, not of her pregnancy, but of how to deal with it.

He cited psychological evaluations that describe her as childlike and disoriented and said she suffers from “disassociative disorder.”

Prosecutor Elaine Leschot portrayed Drexler instead as selfish. She said the young woman knew that revealing her pregnancy would hold her up to shame.

“Her choice was to make no choice until a point in time when there was going to be an embarrassment, something that was going to interfere with her plans,” she said.