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Man Jailed For Killing His Child May Have Been Wrongly Convicted

5:18 p.m. EST January 22, 2003

Alan Yurko is serving life in prison, convicted of shaking his baby to death. But now, his wife says she has new evidence that could set him free. "My husband was not capable of doing something like this," she explains.

Alan Yurko was convicted of first-degree murder in Orange County almost four years ago. His wife has said all along, there's no way he could have murdered their child. Now, the family is about to ask the State Attorney General to re-open the case.

Francine Yurko spends much of her time these days at home, on the computer, answering e-mails and phone calls from supporters, thinking about the son and husband she lost one November morning in 1997.

Baby Alan was only two months old when prosecutors say he was shaken to death by his father, Alan Yurko. An autopsy revealed all the classic symptoms, retinal bleeding and hemorrhaging in the brain. But Francine says, if detectives and doctors had looked more closely, they would have seen the truth. "They were already pointing the finger that this was a case of abuse," says Francine.

"I think a grave injustice has been done," says Dr. Roy Kupsinel. He is one of dozens of medical professionals supporting Francine's effort to clear her husband's name. They say baby Alan had a bad reaction to the vaccines he was given when he was born, that's why he stopped breathing. And the retinal bleeding and bruises on his brain were caused by an overdose of drugs doctors used trying to save his life.

"So it appears just like someone took and shook the child, the infant, so the same thing can happen from what we're talking about," says Dr. Kupsinel.

Francine maintains her husband is the victim of a rush to judgment. She's about to ask the state attorney to take another look at the case but knows, even if he is acquitted, her life will never be the same.

"They're will always be a hole. You can't bring back your son, you can't bring back those years that were lost. They're going and all you can do is pick up the pieces of what you have and continue on and make them better," says Francine.

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