Child abuse charges leveled against a mother have been dropped due to the death of the prosecution's key witness.
Prosecutors dismissed the charges against April Renshaw, who was scheduled to face a jury for allegedly throwing her eleven month old boy across the room and into a wall.
The case was put in jeopardy because of the death of the witness, a 55 year old neighbor of Renshaw's. The neighbor told investigators what she saw Renshaw do to the infant that day in March, but the witness died a month later.
The Gage County County Sheriff's Office ruled it a suicide. Without her availability to testify, it was unlikely a judge would allow a jury to see her written statement of what happened as defendants have to have the ability to confront their accusers in court.