Eugene (KMTR) - Angelica Swartout is a free woman After weeks of testimony and months of sitting inside the Lane County Jail.
The jury announced their verdict just after two hours of deliberation on Thursday afternoon.
The Springfield woman was accused of killing her newborn baby and throwing it in a dumpster where she worked in October of 2010. It was her family that turned her in, telling police Swartout was clearly pregnant but told them she had a miscarriage. Police found no record of a miscarriage or a baby. She confessed to them of throwing her baby into the dumpster, but the Lane County Sheriff's Office never found anything at the landfill.
In her first trial, all but one juror thought Swartout was guilty. She could have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison. Because the decision was not unanimous, the jury was hung. A retrial began in the beginning of May.
After weeks of testimony, final arguments began.
After the verdict Thursday, Swartout was released from the Lane County jail with her family waiting outside.
Swartout's defense attorney, Gordon Mallon, told the media that they are just thankful for almost everyone involved.
"We want to thank the jury, and we want to thank the juror from the last trial, George Bruce, who saw the obvious and stood up for what he knew was right," Mallon said.
Minutes after the verdict, Michelle Paudois - a close friend of Swartout's - also thanked the jury.
"She's a lovely girl. She has such a love for kids. That's something that didn't come out this whole time, she has such a big heart and such a love for kids she would never do this," Paudois said.
In a conference later in the day, defense attorney Gordon Mallon and Angelica Swartout stood before the media. Swartout did not speak.
"Ninety-five percent of the time with a confession, even with weak evidence, there's a conviction. Now, with strong evidence and a confession, conviction 100% of the time. But that wasn't our case here and everybody recognized that," Mallon said.
Swartout's family said she will continue living in the area and wants to go back to school.
