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# Jury finds accused baby-killer not guilty
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/jury-finds-accused-baby-killer-not-guilty/
- Published: 2006-05-26T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T18:01:03.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Jury decides quickly*

A Santa Monica woman charged with murdering an unborn baby last year was found not guilty Wednesday, according to officials with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

After a trial that lasted nearly three weeks, it took the jury just under two hours to acquit Victoria Nadine Caldwell-Later, 35, of murder charges stemming from a vicious attack on a 32-year-old pregnant woman, who was stabbed multiple times outside of her Los Feliz home. The woman survived, however, her unborn daughter did not.

Upon hearing the verdict, Andrew Stein, who represented Caldwell-Later, said his client broke down in tears.

“This trial cost her almost everything she had, emotionally and financially,” Stein said. “She believed all along the jury would find her not guilty … but with a jury trial, there’s always a risk.”

Stein said Caldwell-Later was released from jail hours after the verdict. She was being held on $1 million bail at the LAPD’s 77th Street women’s detention center since being arrested without incident in the Pico Neighborhood late last year. Stein said he didn’t know if his client intended to return to live in Santa Monica.

Prosecutors said Caldwell-Later stabbed a woman who was carrying the baby of Caldwell-Later’s former boyfriend. Prosecut ors felt Caldwell-Later tried to kill the woman and her unborn baby out of jealousy.

Robert Grace, the lead prosecutor in the case, said he presented several witnesses that identified Caldwell-Later as being in the area at the time of the crime, however, none witnessed the actual attack. Grace said he also presented witnesses to establish motive, as well as a cell phone records expert to demonstrate a relationship between Caldwell-Later and the father of the baby.

“I’m never surprised by a verdict,” Grace said. “When you have 12 different people trying to come to one decision, just about anything can happen.”

Stein said the prosecution’s case lacked hard evidence linking his client to the crime and suggested the brevity in which the jury returned with a verdict was a reflection of that.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 26, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/052606.pdf?ref=smdp.com)