Last month, an Idaho teenager was arrested following an investigation into a deceased infant that was placed inside of a hospital’s Safe Haven Baby Box in October.
As Townhall covered, the infant was placed inside of the box at Grove Creek Medical Center in Blackfoot, Idaho on Oct. 13. Within a minute, the medical team responded to the alarm that a baby was placed there. However, it was discovered that the baby was dead long before she was placed in the box.
A “Safe Haven” box is meant to give mothers an option to surrender their newborns without any legal repercussions, provided that the child is unharmed.
"Unfortunately, the placement of a harmed or deceased infant is not protected under this system or Idaho law,” the Blackfoot Police Department explained in a statement.
In this case, the child’s mother, 18-year-old Angel N. Newberry of Twin Falls, was arrested for failure to report a death to law enforcement and the coroner.
Monica Kelsey, the creator of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, responded to the incident in a statement on Facebook, calling it “an illegal, deadly abandonment.”
Kelsey added that “When the baby was placed in the box, she was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached.”
At this point, details as to how the infant died have not been released.
This week, another horrific case made headlines after a pregnant Texas woman had a baby inside a Whataburger bathroom.
Mallori Patrice Strait, 33, visited a Whataburger in San Antonio around noon last Thursday. She stayed there until about 2 p.m., when she went into the restaurant's bathroom.
Reportedly, Strait stayed there for two hours and could be heard making “alarming” sounds in a stall.
According to several outlets, the restaurant manager checked in on her several times and provided her with water. Eventually, the manager told Strait she had to leave and called the police out of concern for the woman’s safety.
Deputies from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the location and began to question Strait. She was uncooperative, multiple outlets noted. Then, the fire department arrived on the scene.
In the restroom, authorities discovered a baby girl’s dead body in the toilet.
Strait and the child were rushed to a hospital. The child was pronounced dead. The exact cause and manner of death are still pending.
Strait faces a charge of abuse of a corpse.
Texas woman, 33, arrested for allegedly flushing fetus down toilet in Whataburger bathroom https://t.co/C6a5f0zoto pic.twitter.com/YClWAdYtzf
— New York Post (@nypost) December 24, 2024
News4 San Antonio reported that Strait was in her third trimester of pregnancy about 28 to 30 weeks pregnant.
According to Law & Crime, Strait reportedly said, “I’m sorry. I’m not selfish” as she was transported to the hospital.
Charges could be upgraded if an autopsy determines that she harmed the baby.
Texas, like many other states, has laws that would allow parents unable to care for their children to surrender them as newborns at a hospital or fire station.
According to KENS5, the baby was discovered inside of the amniotic sac. Authorities freed the child and began to try to revive her to no avail. Now, funeral preparations are underway by Eagle’s Flight Advocacy and Outreach, a nonprofit that provides funerals for abandoned and abused babies.
Pam Allen, who spearheads the group, told the outlet they had been involved since the case was first reported. The organization is working to provide a proper memorial service.
