News & Politics - Dead newborn found in "happy birthday" gift bag

WalkingOnSunshine · 01-17-2005, 06:53 PM

Quote:

January 17, 2005 -- A 13-year-old girl and her 15-year-old boyfriend yesterday revealed in a grisly confession to cops the sickening events that led to the death of their newborn boy, whose body was found in a "Happy Birthday" gift bag outside a Bronx church. The young mom said she gave birth in her second-floor bedroom Friday but panicked when the baby started to cry, sources said.
She then cracked open the bedroom window and threw the infant into an alley, where he remained for more than 10 hours in the cold.

The girl said her boyfriend, the baby's dad, later arrived at the apartment. After she told him what she had done, he went down to the alley, saw the child and placed him, with the umbilical cord still attached, in the bag, the sources said.

He then brought the bag a few blocks away to the Second Prince of Peace Baptist Church on East 183rd Street in the Tremont section, cops said. The church was closed at the time, and he left the baby in the bag in the doorway, they said.

The horrific death of the day-old boy was being treated as a homicide by cops after an autopsy revealed that the child's head was fractured and his leg broken.

A passer-by discovered the bag with the dead infant inside at around 8:20 p.m. Friday and called 911.

Cops were finally able to track down the young mother yesterday after canvassing the neighborhood, and one of her friends gave them information about the case, sources said.

The mother, who was not identified because she is underage, was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital and given postnatal care. She was then transferred to Bronx Psychiatric Center.

Neither she nor the baby's dad had been charged last night.

It was not known if there was anyone else in the apartment at the time the teenager gave birth.

The Bronx DA' s Office will present the case to a grand jury tomorrow to determine what, if any, criminal charges will be filed against either teen.

"This is such a tragedy," said the Rev. Prince Davis, the pastor of the church where the newborn was abandoned. "They [the parents] really need help. They need counseling and they need to be prayed for.

"They may not be aware of what they were really doing," he said, adding, "What about their parents? Where were they? They should be responsible."

from New York Post Online

I, too, wonder where were their parents?

In Fair Verona · 01-17-2005, 06:58 PM

That is sickening and terrible. How was she able to do that to be a baby? I agree that both parents definetly need help and - yeah, parents.

Hot Like Fire · 01-17-2005, 09:05 PM

That is so awful.

No1important · 01-17-2005, 10:20 PM

With some of the news stories posted on this forum lately makes me wonder if mankind has finally lost any shred of "common sense" or "Human Dignity".

So many sad and sick stories lately. What on earth is the human race turning into, that people have so much disrespect for another?????

JW77 · 01-18-2005, 12:14 AM

She panicked when the baby started to cry? It was a baby, what did she expect?

- Jen - · 01-18-2005, 12:22 AM

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Originally Posted by JW77

She panicked when the baby started to cry? It was a baby, what did she expect?

she's 13 years old, she's a child herself, and would have had no clue what to do...

and i'm sorry to bring it up in yet another thread, but this is the type of story that makes me support abortion.

Children should not raise children.

JW77 · 01-18-2005, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by - Jen -

she's 13 years old, she's a child herself, and would have had no clue what to do...

Ahh...maybe her parents were there, and maybe they didn't realize that she was pregnant. It's not hard to hide a pregnancy these days. Maybe that's why she panicked.

Either way, you have to figure that even a thirteen year old girl would know that throwing a baby out of a window is a bad thing.

- Jen - · 01-18-2005, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JW77

Ahh...maybe her parents were there, and maybe they didn't realize that she was pregnant. It's not hard to hide a pregnancy these days. Maybe that's why she panicked.

Either way, you have to figure that even a thirteen year old girl would know that throwing a baby out of a window is a bad thing.

absolutely, i am no way condoning what she did, but a 13 yr old is going to be more prone to doing something spontaneous, without thinking of the consequences...

i 'm gonna go out on a short limb, and say her parents weren't playing a big role in her life, i would challenge anyone to hide a pregnancy from parents who they see on a regular basis, especially a 13 yr old girl, whose frame would show a pregnancy a lot more than a full grown adult....

roswellain_chick16 · 01-18-2005, 01:48 AM

OMG @ 13 I barely even thought about 'hooking up' with a guy, let alone even THOUGHT or CONSIDERED have sex with one

- and Im only 18, so it wasnt that long ago

This is crazy!

I have heard/read so many stories lately about people and their babies, or their treatment of their babies and I can only say one word...disgusting!

LittleMilkJug · 01-18-2005, 03:10 AM

This is so sad

I agree with Jen

Lexis · 01-18-2005, 06:29 AM

So sad. There is something really screwed up when children are becoming parents. We've really gotta change something.

*Ledi* · 01-18-2005, 08:17 AM

I have no words for this.

Ambular · 01-18-2005, 08:59 AM

This just enfuriates me, for so many reasons.

First of all, I can completely understand that the girl is young and immature and inexperienced with babies, and panicked and didn't know what to do, but throwing it out of a window? That is completely beyond disgusting and socially irresponsible. I'm sure every 13-year old is old enough to know that murder is wrong, and she has to know that this was murder, even IF she was confused and afraid. Why couldn't she have left the crying baby on the church steps ALIVE? Abandoning the baby and brutally killing the baby are completely different.

I know 10-year olds that still know better than throwing an infant into an alleyway.

It's hard to say whose to "blame" completely, because, even though I completely agree that there is something wrong with the way teenagers are raised today, and the apparant lack of moral integrity human beings as a whole seem to have, and that if these girls were more educated these things may not happen, but maybe they still will. Grown adults are more aware of alternate options they have available to them and STILL kill their children, so, who knows.

In any event, assuming the girl did not give birth very prematurely, how do they parents not notice she is pregnant?

No1important · 01-18-2005, 11:14 AM

I think a lot is to due with lack of sex education by the parents and even the schools. Young people get the wrong idea about sex these days from television. They make it okay to sleep around and you rarely see "people" on TV practise or mention safe sex.

I also believe these kids are scared to tell their parents if they get pregnant at 12, 13, 14, 15 etc and that is wrong. Children/Teenagers should not be scared to go to their parents.

I hope my wife and I prepared our daughter (14) and son (12) about safe sex, not having sex and general sex ed and what a commitment it is to have sex and that having sex is not something to be taken lightly. We realize teenagers have "wild" hormones (i remember my teenage years)and some (or a lot) teenagers do have sex and as hard as it is for some parents to discuss it, you have to.

Who on earth wants their teenagers having back alley births? or baseball bat abortions? Not me.

Even though my wife and I would not be happy if our son got a girl pregnant or if someone got our daughter pregnant I hope and want to believe they would come to us. We may not be happy about it, but at least they would come to us and we can figure it from there. We have never laid a hand on our kids so they should not be scared to come to us. No teenager should have to go through that alone. And really a teenager is still a child and do not have maturity to deal with sex and pregnancy issues.

Parents have to lead by example and get over thinking "abstinence" is the answer or that sex is sinful or dirty.

Ambular · 01-18-2005, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No1important

I think a lot is to due with lack of sex education by the parents and even the schools.

I completely agree with this, but in a lot of cases, teenagers are still going to behave irresponsibly like this (obviously). I know a lot of people who went to the same school as I did, and learned the same information about sex and its consequences, and I happen to know that their parents were very informative and honest with them, and yet these kids are still more influenced by their own friends than school or their parents.

I know that is obvious, but I just wanted to add that

Also, as far as the media is concerned, I have very particular opinions about the kids (or even adults) who make important life decisions based around what happens on their favorite TV shows or what celebrities do in their personal lives. I know it's easy for them because a quite large number of teenagers nowadays are more impressionable and susceptible to what they see going on in the media, and it saddens me. I wish these kids had the maturity to recognize the difference between what they see and the reality of the consequences.

Quote:

Parents have to lead by example and get over thinking "abstinence" is the answer or that sex is sinful or dirty.

Well, I would agree that some parents are way over the line in their reactions to their children's involvement in sex, but only really by those reactions in themselves, not in their teachings. Of course people have different ideas about what's right and wrong, and will teach their kids different things. But I don't think it's wrong to teach children that abstinence is preferred or that sex (before marriage) is a sin. In some religions, it IS a sin, and it is the parent's right to try and teach those values to their children. If the child accepts that or not, it's up to them. I would disagree with harsh punishment or disownment of teenagers who make a mistake, but I don't think the parents are to blame for wanting their kids to be abstinent.

In any case, any 13-year-old who needs to be TAUGHT that throwing a newborn out of a window to its death is morally reprehensible probably has underlying emotional problems, I think.


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