Last night, ITV released their much-anticipated documentary, The Trial of Louise Woodward, on the 25th anniversary of the crime it entails. The show takes an in-depth look into the 1997 death of eight month old Matthew Eappen, whom Louise went under a highly publicised trial for killing. With the crime committed by a British person in America, the events surrounding the trial shook both sides of the Atlantic.
Who is Louise Woodward?
Louise Woodward was a 19-year-old British au pair from Cheshire, England, who worked for the Eappen family in Boston, Massachusetts and was employed through an agency to care for their children.
She had originally flown out there to work for another family but was reportedly unhappy with the 11 pm curfew she was given. Then, Woodward began working for Sunil and Deborah Eappen, but they became unhappy with her when she started staying out late. In January 1997, the family enforced rules that she had to live by.
In 1997, she famously went on trial for the murder of a nine-month-old baby in her care - Matthew Eappen.
Just four days after those new rules were set, Matthew stopped breathing and Woodward phoned for an ambulance. Matthew Eappen was admitted to a children’s hospital in Boston. Five days after being admitted to the hospital, Matthew Eappen fell into a coma and tragically died from a fractured skull and a subdural haematoma – a serious condition where blood collects between the skull and the surface of the brain. As health professionals examined him, they noticed other injuries that had been missed - such as a broken wrist. This, and the injuries that killed him, were determined to be consistent with ‘shaken baby syndrome’. Woodward had killed Matthew Eappen by shaking him.
In the Boston press, Woodward was named the ‘most notorious criminal convicted in Massachusetts’ but she denied killing or even injuring the child on purpose or out of malice.
Woodward was then arrested on the following day and initially held for assault and battery. When questioned by police, she claimed she had ‘popped him on the bed’ when he became unresponsive, but police were certain she had been ‘rough’ with the child.
There was even a dispute over her use of the word ‘popped’. ‘Popped’ is a colloquialism for placing something or someone down in Britain, but there are violent connotations to the word in some areas of the States. In a later interview, she admitted to ‘lightly shaking’ Matthew, because he was unresponsive and she was trying to wake him.
Murder was added to Woodward’s charges when Matthew died, and a grand jury decided on a first-degree murder charge in March. She was denied bail and held until her trial in a maximum-security prison. It was reported that she lived mostly in solitary confinement to keep her safe from attacks by the other inmates - since she had been branded as a ‘baby killer’.
The then-teenager maintained her innocence but the prosecution claimed she killed Matthew in a ‘frustrated, unhappy and relentless rage.’
What Happened in the Trial?
Media coverage was intense, especially in Boston and nowhere more so than in the United Kingdom. Originally, Woodward’s lawyers had requested for the trial to take place in another city, claiming the media attention would affect Woodward’s right to a fair trial. But, the request was denied.
In October of the same year, after 26 hours of deliberations, the jury found Louise Woodward guilty of second-degree murder. The following day, Judge Zobel sentenced her to life in prison with a minimum of 15 years to be served. Woodward allegedly wept in the courtroom and told her parents, ‘Please don’t let me spend the rest of my life in here for something I didn’t do.’
In the days following the verdict, it emerged that the jury had been evenly split about the murder charge, but those who had favoured 'not guilty' were persuaded by the others to accept a conviction.
Completely tipping the case, one jury member reportedly said ‘no one [on the jury] thought she had tried to kill [Matthew]’. On this basis, and a review of the other evidence, Woodward’s charge was reduced from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter.
Judge Zobel, who actioned this change, said ‘the circumstances in which the defendant acted were characterised by confusion, inexperience, frustration, immaturity and some anger, but not malice in the legal sense supporting a conviction for second-degree murder. I am morally certain that allowing this defendant on this evidence to remain convicted of second-degree murder would be a miscarriage of justice.’
As Woodward had already served 279 days in prison, she was immediately freed and returned to England.
Where is Louise Woodward Now?
Now, Louise Woodward lives in Chester with her husband and child and is a Latin and Ballroom dance teacher. She returned to England very quickly after the trial ended, and upon returning home, gave a press conference which was broadcast live in the UK and the US. She shared that she was eager to ‘get back to her life.'
Woodward has addressed the public very little when it comes to Matthew’s case. This may be due to her desire for privacy, but could also be down to a lawsuit from Matthew’s parents.
Though she hasn’t spoken out much about the trial herself, ITV have faced criticism for not including enough about Louise Woodward, her life and her side of the story in yesterday’s documentary.
Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of Louise Woodward’s trial, encouraging ITV to take a deeper look into the events that lead up to, surrounded and followed Eappen’s tragic death.
But the documentary has not sat well with critics or its viewers. The Times called the show ‘one-sided’ and criticised them for not including enough of Louise Woodward’s side of the story, while TV critics from The Independent described the documentary as a ‘non-event’ without any purpose.
However, others are glad the documentary is bringing the story back into the limelight, calling it ‘important’, particularly when reflecting on the divisive, overwhelming nature of the case and the media narratives encasing it.
You can catch up on the documentary via ITV hub.