Prom baby killer to leave prison

CLINTON, N.J. -- A young woman who gave birth in a bathroom stall at her high school prom and then killed the infant before returning to the dance floor is expected to be freed from prison next week.

Melissa Drexler, now 23, has served just over three years of the 15-year sentence she was given after pleading guilty in 1998 to aggravated manslaughter.

She is expected to be freed from the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility on Monday.

As an 18-year-old senior at Lacey Township High School, Drexler concealed her pregnancy from the baby's father and her parents. She gave birth on June 6, 1997, in a restroom while at the prom and threw the 6-pound, 6-ounce boy into a trash can before returning to the dance.