6/6/2024

PHILLIPS – The Price County district attorney decided not to file charges against a midwife who provided care to a pregnant mother whose baby died during labor in 2023.  The decision was filed Tuesday. The family believes their midwife, Sandra Pera, is to blame for their child’s death during birth. Pera’s attorneys stated in their letter to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services that the family “exaggerates and attempts to sensationalize the labor and delivery at issue.”  It is the second time DA Matthew Elroy made that decision, in the case of the death of Josie and Alex Schmidt’s daughter, Marien. He stated he did not believe he could prove the crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.  Elroy was required to take a second look at the 230-page criminal investigation after the family who lost their child under the midwife’s care filed a John Doe petition in January.