Mother Held for Allegedly Trying to Drown Baby in Lake
A 24-year-old woman who allegedly planned to drop her newborn daughter into the lake at MacArthur Park was arrested on suspicion of child abuse, police said Monday.
Tammy Miller, who apparently was alone when she gave birth inside an apartment early Sunday, was spotted by officers as she held the girl above the lake about 10 hours later, police said.
A bystander had alerted officers near the park at 7th and Alvarado streets that a woman told him she would drown her child if he refused to take it.
Two officers spotted Miller about 10 a.m. Sunday holding the child as though she were about to drop her in the lake. Both Miller and the child were covered in blood from the unassisted birth when they were taken into custody, officials said.
Authorities said Miller is a cocaine addict and was wanted on an outstanding warrant for felony child abuse in Fresno. She was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center for treatment and booked in the center’s jail ward, police said.
The child was placed in protective custody with the county Department of Children and Family Services.
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