Aberdeen -- Fetal Homicide, Aggravated Assault (3 counts) and Assault
Sundance Medicinehorn Keeble was living in an Aberdeen apartment with his 20-year-old sister and his 21-year-old girlfriend, who was four to five months pregnant.
On November 21, 2003, Keeble deliberately stabbed his girlfriend in the stomach and savagely beat his own sister. He punched her in the mouth so hard she lost several teeth, and his girlfriend's preborn baby died as a result of his attack, although the girlfriend survived.
Keeble was charged with fetal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault and simple assault, and was jailed on a half-million dollars bond.
Brown County prosecutor Mark McNeary said "This was a heinous act. The defendant intentionally stabbed the woman in the stomach, causing the death of the unborn child."
South Dakota is one of 15 states that offer "full coverage" to unborn victims of violence, allowing the state to prosecute in the death of a preborn child at any stage.
Another 13 states have similar laws that allow prosecution after the child has reached a certain age, usually after 24 weeks.
In 38 states, parents can file civil suits relating to the death of a preborn child.
Associated Press. "Prosecutor Charges Man with Assault, Killing Unborn Baby." Aberdeen News, November 25, 2003; Paul Nowak. "South Dakota Man Charged with Two Crimes in Unborn Victims Case."' LifeNews.com, November 27, 2003.
Aberdeen -- Fatal Botched Abortion
Abortionist Benjamin Munson, a member of the National Abortion Federation (NAF), was charged with and tried for manslaughter after killing Linda Padfield. Pro-abortionists raised money for his defense, once again showing their callous disregard for the lives of women.
The pathologist found a preborn child of nearly five months gestation, missing its leg, arm, part of its skull and part of its torso, in Padfield's uterus. The autopsy revealed she died of a massive infection. Munson sued to enjoin the prosecution but was denied in his motion. The Attorney General said that "You take a three-inch leg off something, you have to know that there's more in there than just the leg." Munson's defense argued that the State could not prove that he intended to harm Padfield by leaving so much of the preborn child inside her, but a prosecution expert witness said that infection would result in every case when so much tissue is left behind.
American Medical News, August 29, 1977; AMA News, December 12, 1977 and January 23, 1978; "The Munson Case: How They View Abortion Verdict Back Home." National Right to Life News, February 1978, page 8; "Abortion Activist Faces South Dakota Manslaughter Trial." National Right to Life News, October 1977, pages 1 and 5; "Abortionist Tries To Evade Charge." National Right to Life News, October 1976, page 15; Lori Sturdevant. "S. Dakota Doctor Acquitted in Abortion Death." Minneapolis Tribune, October 21, 1977, pages 1B and 6B.
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