Mother of Dead Baby Won’t Be Prosecuted

A woman whose newborn child was found dead on a rooftop will not face criminal charges, although investigators found drugs and alcohol in the baby’s body, officials said. The body of the baby girl, found in March, was so decomposed that investigators could not determine whether the child was stillborn, police said. Prosecutors said that precludes filing criminal charges against the mother, Melissa Susan Hacker, 21, now living in Colorado.

“The law does not allow us to charge anybody with a homicide if it is unclear if the child was even born alive,” said Tori Richards, spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Police said the case is now closed.