Closing Arguments Today in Trial of Mom Accused of Killing Her Baby

Attorneys expect to make their closing arguments today in the trial of a 34-year-old Seal Beach woman accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter and abusing the victim's twin.

Linda Wilborn faces 25 years to life if convicted of murdering her daughter Millicent and severely beating the girl's twin brother at their Seal Beach home. Wilborn remains in custody with bail set at $1 million.

This is the second trial for Wilborn. Earlier this year, an Orange County Superior Court judge declared a mistrial in the case against Wilborn. Judge Richard Toohey granted the mistrial after Wilborn's defense attorney objected to the prosecution’s use of a medical article indicating it would be possible for Wilbon to have squeezed her daughter so tightly she tore the toddler’s heart.

Her husband, Sgt. Derrick Wilborn, a Seal Beach resident and member of the Los Angeles Medical Recruiting Command based in Long Beach, was tried via general court-martial and sentenced to 90 days of detainment for negligent homicide in the death of his daughter. The military justice panel determined that Derrick Wilborn was guilty of one count of negligent homicide, one count of child endangerment by culpable negligence resulting in bodily harm, and one count of child endangerment by culpable negligence resulting in grievous bodily harm because he knew his wife was abusing their children but did nothing to intervene.

Seal Beach police detectives were at the department Christmas party in December 2009 when the call came in to investigate the death of a baby girl.

According to police, Wilborn, a mother of four, called 911 to report her daughter was hurt. Millicent was rushed to the hospital, where she died from a ruptured heart. Doctors found that the toddler had fresh and old fractures to her ribs, and an examination of her brother revealed a fractured skull, according to the district attorney’s office.

Her surviving children were placed in protective custody, and Wilborn remains in jail after pleading not guilty to one count of murder and several counts of child abuse.