Annie Anderson, accused in the 'Baby Skylar' case, had her fall trial date pushed back to March 2026.
The case dates back to 2005, when a newborn was found dead in a Sky Harbor bathroom. Decades later, police tracked Anderson down in Washington. She was arrested in 2023.
Court records show the defense team is still working on a potential settlement proposal to present to the state. In court Wednesday, Anderson's attorney said they need more time for their expert to review the case.
"I think March is reasonable in terms of at least, by that time you know, we will have submitted everything," said attorney Katie Gipson-McLean. "We will know where we're at and be able to prepare at that point."
Gipson-McLean said they had interviewed both medical examiners that were a part of this case. One, according to a police report, conducted a review in 2022 and changed the manner of death from homicide to undetermined.
Police said they tracked Anderson down in 2022, and that's when Anderson allegedly told police she gave birth in her hotel bathtub.
Court documents said she also claimed the baby was stillborn. Police said that the information is inconsistent with evidence and information from the medical examiner.
Court documents also said Anderson admitted to taking the baby to Sky Harbor in a backpack and "knowing she couldn't go through security..." put the baby in a bathroom trash bin.
"That is sort of the crux of what this case is going to come down to at trial, is was the child born alive?" said a county prosecutor at a previous court date. "And pursuant to the review of Dr. Mosley and Dr. Hirsch, they both support the proposition that the child was born alive."
In court Wednesday, Gipson-McLean said they had interviewed both ME's involved in this case.
"We've interviewed the previous medical examiner as well," said Gipson-McLean. "And so given his change in findings, or, I guess, what he said during the interview, is also why then we've now wanted to include our expert prior to submitting anything to the state."
The Judge asked Anderson's attorneys to clarify who the defense team had interviewed. Gipson-McLean said most recently they had talked to the original ME.
"He essentially said that if he were to redo the examination today, he would align his findings with the new report," said Gipson-McLean.
None of the parties objected to pushing back the trial and a new date of March 30, 2026 was set.
Anderson bonded out of custody in December with electronic monitoring. Court records show multiple organizations, including a pregnancy defense organization, were helping with the 52-year-old's case.
Prior to her release from custody, ABC15's Arizona Crime Uncovered took an in-depth look at the case and how law enforcement tracked down Anderson.
