Mother sentenced to prison in baby’s death
A Spring Township woman was sentenced Wednesday to 17½ to 40 years in state prison for the murder of her 6-month-old daughter, whom police said she and the baby’s father killed, then hid in a plastic garbage bag covered by cat litter.
Samantha M. Trump, 29, was sentenced by Berks County Judge Patrick T. Barrett.
Police said early in 2018 that Trump and Shaun C. Oxenreider, 27, killed their daughter, Harper Oxenreider,
in Lincoln Park Apartments and Townhomes, where they lived together.
In pleading no contest to third-degree murder on Feb. 20, Trump acknowledged prosecutors could prove their case, but she did not admit guilt.
She also entered an open, no-contest plea to concealing the death of a child.
The open pleas mean there was no sentencing agreement with prosecutors.
Before Barrett sentenced Trump, Berks County Assistant District Attorney Meg McCallum read a statement from one of Harper’s relatives, and another relative spoke themselves, about how the girl is missing out on all of her firsts and cannot be with her siblings, and that it was her mother who should have protected her who took that away from her.
Trump also spoke, and tearfully said she’d be sorry for the rest of her life about
Harper’s death. She said she loved all three of her daughters — one of whom she was pregnant with at the time Harper died — and she said she knew she let them down.
The other two girls live with adoptive families.
Public defender Holly Feeney, who represented Trump, said Oxenreider abused Harper, was a neglectful father and terrorized and abused Trump as well.
Oxenreider is charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse and related charges and has a disposition hearing scheduled in Berks court for Aug. 12.
According to court documents:
On March 19, 2018, police were called to investigate a child welfare case.
A relative of Oxenreider’s had called authorities with concerns about what happened to Harper, whom the couple had told people had died of natural causes.
Police spoke with Berks County Children and Youth Services, which also investigated the case and said the couple appeared suspicious.
The agency contacted local hospitals, funeral homes and the Berks coroner’s office, none of which had any records related to Harper’s death.
The couple also couldn’t produce a death certificate, and said they’d be out of town for several weeks spending time with family in New Jersey.
But police found the couple was home, and went to the residence with Children and Youth Services representatives.
The couple wouldn’t allow them in, but while Trump was inside the home speaking with officers outside, she collapsed and began to convulse into seizures. Officers entered the apartment to assist her and EMS personnel drove Trump to the hospital.