A Seal Beach mother of four was arrested today for allegedly killing her 22-month-old daughter by rupturing the girl's heart and fracturing the skull of the girl's twin brother. Needless to say, the three surviving children of 31-year-old Linda Wilborn have been placed in protective custody.
The Orange County District Attorney's office statement on the case follows after the jump . . .
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February 8, 2010
MOTHER OF FOUR ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF KILLING 22-MONTH-OLD BABY GIRL AND CAUSING SKULL FRACTURE TO THE VICTIM'S TWIN BROTHER
A mother of four was arrested today on charges of
killing one of her 22-month-old twins by rupturing the baby's heart and
injuring the other twin by causing a skull fracture. Linda Wilborn, 31,
Seal Beach, is charged with one felony count of assault on a child with
force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death and
three felony counts of child abuse. If convicted, she faces a maximum
sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. Wilborn was arrested
today by the Seal Beach Police Department (SBPD) and is being held on
$1 million bail. She is expected to be arraigned Wednesday, Feb. 10,
2010, in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana. The time is to be
determined.
Wilborn has four young children, including 22-month-old twins Millicent
and John Doe. Between Oct. 17, 2009, and Dec. 17, 2009, the defendant
is accused of physically abusing the twins.
On Dec. 17, 2009, Wilborn is accused of being home with her four
children while her husband was at work. The defendant is accused of
inflicting tremendous blunt force on Millicent. At approximately 4:00
p.m., Wilborn is accused of calling 9-1-1 to report that the victim was
unresponsive.
Millicent was transported to the hospital, but later died due to a
ruptured heart despite the life-saving efforts of medical staff.
Further examination of the victim revealed that she had fresh and old
fractures to her ribs. An examination of her twin, John Doe, revealed
that he had a fractured skull. The defendant is accused of causing the
great bodily injuries that resulted in the death of Millicent, as well
as the injuries to John Doe. The other two children did not have any
physical signs of trauma.
Wilborn's three surviving children were placed in protective custody.
SBPD investigated this case and arrested the defendant today while she
was at the Orange County Social Services Agency visiting her children.
Senior Deputy District Attorney
Scott Simmons of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.