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Medical examiner reverses shaken baby finding

BURLINGTON, Mass. (AP) — A Burlington woman charged with killing a 6-month-old girl she was caring for has been granted bail after the state Medical Examiner's Office reversed its finding that the child died after being violently shaken.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys on Monday reached a deal to allow Pallavi Macharla free on $25,000 bail pending her trial on murder charges in the March 2014 death.

The medical examiner in the case originally determined that the baby died of blunt force and shaking injuries.

But after the defense hired a specialist who said the baby died of natural causes, a doctor in the medical examiner's office backed off the shaking conclusion. Prosecutors still allege the baby's death was a homicide.

Macharla's attorney said his client maintains she played no role in the girl's death.

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