Delco autopsy: Baby was killed

His tiny lungs had only a short time to fill before he took his last breath - but he did breathe, he was alive, before it was all taken away.

Asphyxiation. That's the report from Delaware County Medical Examiner Dr. Fredric Hellman as to the cause of death of an infant found four months ago in the trunk of a car parked in front of the Drexel Hill home of an affluent businessman.

Last night, after months of speculation, Hellman released his autopsy report.

"Assaulted by another(s)," it read. "HOMICIDE."

Last night an arrest warrant was issued for the infant's mother, Mia Sardella, 18, a Drexel University student and the granddaughter of Albert E. Piscopo, chief executive of the Glenmede Trust Co., an elite Philadelphia-based investment firm.

The criminal charges will include murder and desecration of a corpse, Upper Darby Police Chief Michael Chitwood said. All charges will have to be approved by the Delaware County district attorney's office, he said.

Sardella was expected to surrender this morning, Chitwood said.

Investigators found the baby in a tote bag in the trunk of a Volks-wagen Beetle in front of Piscopo's house at 1104 Drexel Ave. on Jan. 22.

Police were directed to the residence by the family's attorney, Arthur Donato Jr.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, Donato said he'd been in contact with the D.A's office, but hadn't been informed of any charges against Sardella.

"If charged with a homicide, our expectation is that she will plead not guilty to that and vigorously defend it," Donato said.

Referring to Sardella's case as one of "denial of pregnancy," Donato could not say categorically whether she would plead not guilty to lesser charges - such as abuse of a corpse or concealing the death of a child.

"There are varying degrees of homicide, and certainly from everything I know at this moment, there would be no reason for her to plead guilty to any sort of homicide," he said.

Donato said he will consult an independent pathologist for a second opinion.

Chitwood said the baby had been born alive but had been alive for only a "very short period of time" before it was strangled.

Last week, Chitwood held a news conference and accused the D.A.'s office and the medical examiner of covering up the baby's autopsy report.

A spokesman for the D.A.'s office denied that claim and said the results would be released this week.

When asked if he believed his news conference had anything to do with the release of the autopsy report, Chitwood said, "I would like to think so."

"I still feel very strongly about what I said - I'm not taking it back," he said. *