Baby is found in trash; teen is charged
A 17-year-old on vacation from Indiana was arrested Tuesday after allegedly giving birth in a Denny’s restaurant near Disneyland and leaving her baby in a restroom trashcan.
Authorities did not release the mother’s name because of her age. Both she and the newborn girl are under observation at an Anaheim hospital, said Sgt. Rick Martinez, a spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department.
Martinez said a woman called 911 about noon Monday from the restaurant, in the 1100 block of West Katella Avenue, to report that she had found a baby, along with evidence of a live birth in the restroom. After instructing her to administer first aid, Martinez said, the operator dispatched police and paramedics, who rushed the baby to Western Medical Center-Anaheim.
“Officers started interviewing people in the restaurant to determine what took place,” Martinez said, “and one young lady caught our attention. She looked a little ill, and we focused on her.”
The girl was taken to the same hospital as the baby, and it was determined that she had recently given birth, Martinez said. Investigators also discovered that she was visiting from Indianapolis with her teenage boyfriend and his parents. The boy’s mother was the one who discovered the baby.
Police do not believe the boyfriend or his parents knew the girl was pregnant, Martinez said.
On Tuesday the girl was arrested and charged with felony child abuse and neglect. Because of her age, Martinez said, she will be taken to Orange County Juvenile Hall as soon as she is released from the hospital. He said the girl’s parents had been notified.
The baby was reported to be in stable condition at the hospital.
“It’s very fortunate that she was discovered so quickly after being born,” Martinez said. “She was in a very life-threatening situation; any time longer would certainly have changed the outcome.”
The baby has been put under the protection of the Orange County Social Services Agency which, along with the family courts, will decide where she is placed, Martinez said.
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