Tustin : Mother Gains Custody of Baby She Abandoned

The mother of a baby boy abandoned outside a Tustin apartment complex when he was 2 days old was given custody of the child Monday, the mother’s attorney said.

Juvenile Court Referee Betty J. Farrell dismissed Juvenile Court proceedings in the case, which effectively transferred custody of George Hayes, born April 1, from the baby’s grandmother to his mother, according to Deputy Public Defender Myles A. Lenhoff.

“The grandmother and baby will be going back to Florida now,” Lenhoff said. “The mother will be staying here until the criminal proceedings are over. Then she’ll be going back to reunite with the family.”

The mother, Lajuna Shanetta Hayes, pleaded guilty last month to a felony charge of abandoning her child after the infant was discovered near bushes outside the Walnut East Apartments. She could be sentenced to three years in prison, but Lenhoff said he does not expect her to be sent to prison when she is sentenced June 30.

Hayes was living with her parents in Florida when she learned last year that she was pregnant. Lenhoff said she was afraid of her parents’ reaction and came to live with her cousin in Tustin.

She hid her pregnancy from her cousin and gave birth to the baby herself in the bathroom of the cousin’s apartment. Then she stayed with the baby in her room for two days to keep the birth a secret.

Lenhoff said Hayes realized that she could not care for the infant herself, so she placed the child near the apartment where she knew her cousin would find it. Although Hayes hoped that the cousin would raise the baby, the cousin, Jacqueline Washington, called police.

The baby was taken to Childrens Hospital of Orange County initially, but on April 11 Farrell released the child to Faith Hayes, who flew in from Florida after learning of her daughter’s problems.