Mother 'burned her baby to death in microwave
because she was having a seizure fit'
- Ka Yang to stand trial for baby Mirabelle's murder
- Radiation from the microwave cooked the child's stomach and small intestine
A mother will stand trial on charges of killing her seven-week-old daughter by placing her in a microwave oven and letting her burn to death for two minutes.
As well as the murder accusation against Ka Yang, 30, from California, Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Eugene Balanon also found enough evidence to support a special allegation that she tortured her daughter, Mirabelle.
Prosecutors ruled out the death penalty, but Yang faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of the murder of her child.
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The mother-of-four has been held since June after investigators determined her baby died of 'extensive thermal injuries' after being placed in a microwave on March 17.
Mirabelle was jut seven-weeks-old when she was placed in a microwave by her mother. A pathologist testified during Tuesday's hearing that the radiation from the microwave essentially cooked the child's stomach and small intestine.
Yang's defense attorney, Linda Parisi said that it was due to her client's history of seizures - which she has been suffering from for more than six years - that made her put her own baby in the microwave.
She will argue during the murder trial that Yang was in the middle of a seizure and did not know what she was doing.
At the time, Yang claimed she 'had a seizure and did not know what happened after that'.
When they happen, she 'sees white light and then trees before hand', according to her family.
Deputy District Attorney Chris Ore suggested there was no seizure when Yang inserted Mirabelle Thao-Lo into the microwave, and points at the string of lies she told police after her daughter's death.
One of the things she told detectives was that she dropped her baby on a space heater when she had a seizure.
Attorney: Linda Parisi, left, representing Ka Yang, who is facing charges for allegedly killing her daughter, leaves the courtroom with Yang's mother, Chuoa Yang
Scene: Yang told police she dropped her baby on to a space heater while she was having a seizure
During the three-hour hearing, during which the judge refused Parisi's request to dismiss the special circumstance allegation that Yang tortured the girl, a forensic pathologist testified the baby suffered burns to more than 60 per cent of her body.
Dr Gregory Reiber said the most serious burn appeared to be a radiation burn that penetrated her internal organs and 'cooked through' to her stomach and small intestine. He said they were consistent with microwave exposure.
He said the baby would have suffered from severe pain throughout the exposure.
The prosecution allege she placed the child in the microwave because she was being irritable and fussy and holding her back from her work.
A trial date has not yet been set.
Yang, 30, was married at the time of her arrest and has at least two older children. She worked for a local architectural firm.
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