A 76-year-old Wisconsin woman accused of killing her infant daughter more than a half-century ago will serve 45 days in jail and 10 years’ probation, under a plea agreement approved today. Ruby Klokow was charged with second-degree murder in the 1957 death of her 6-month-old daughter, Jeaneen, only after her son, James Klokow Jr., came forward in 2008 with horrific stories of childhood abuse. District Attorney Joe De Cecco cited Klokow’s advanced age and health as factors in the agreement approved by a county judge. De Cecco said if Klokow had been tried, she might have been acquitted altogether and walked free. No charges were filed after Jeaneen’s death in 1957. Ruby Klokow told the police that the baby had fallen off a sofa while she was tending to a crying James. An autopsy found that Jeaneen had suffered two brain hemorrhages, a partially collapsed lung and three scalp bruises. According to a criminal complaint, Klokow admitted causing her daughter’s death.
