Ex-coed reaches plea deal in infant death

LOS ANGELES, May 21 (UPI) -- Los Angeles County prosecutors have reached a plea deal with a former college student accused of dumping her newborn infant in a trash bin, her attorney says.

Under the accord, Holly Ashcraft will receive five years probation and no additional jail time in exchange for pleading no-contest to a charge of child endangerment resulting in death, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

The action ends three years of legal wrangling in which judges twice threw out murder charges against Ashcraft.

Authorities accused her of secretly giving birth to a son in 2005 and then dumping his body in the trash near a popular hangout bear the University of Southern California campus, the Times said.

The investigation of Ashcraft began after she showed up at a local hospital following delivery. The infant she gave birth to was never found.

"Holly wants to close this chapter, finish school and move on with her life," her attorney, Mark Geragos, told the Times.