An 18-year-old Idaho woman was arrested after she allegedly dropped a dead baby in a Safe Haven Baby Box at a hospital, according to police.
Angel N. Newberry was taken into custody on an arrest warrant for failing to report a death to law enforcement officials and the coroner, Blackfoot Police said. She was booked into the Bingham County Jail.
The Safe Haven Baby Box allows parents to safely and anonymously surrender a newborn under 30 days old without legal repercussions, as long as the child is unharmed. Leaving a harmed or deceased infant, however, is not protected.
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Angel N. Newberry (Blackfoot Police)
Newberry’s arrest comes following an investigation that was launched after police responded on Oct. 13 to a report of a dead baby left in a baby box at Grove Creek Medical Center.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes has said hospital staff responded immediately to an alarm indicating a baby was in the box and that the infant had died long before being left inside.
“Grove Creek Medical Center staff responded immediately to the alarm, indicating a baby was in the box,” Safe Haven Baby Boxes wrote on Facebook last month. “The medical team removed the infant from the bassinet within a minute. Upon removal, they quickly realized that the infant had passed away long before being placed in the baby box. The Safe Haven Law in Idaho allows for the surrender of an infant who is unharmed and healthy. Therefore, this was not a legal surrender under state law as it does not meet the criteria for Safe Haven surrender.”
Safe Haven Baby Box (Safe Haven Baby Boxes)
The group’s founder, Monica Kelsey, said: “We are heartbroken. Let this be clear: this is an illegal, deadly abandonment. Anonymity is only allowed when an infant is safely surrendered completely unharmed.”
When the baby was placed in the box, she was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached, Kelsey noted.
Due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation and the potential for further criminal charges, police said they are limited in the information they can release.
When the baby was placed in the box, she was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached. (iStock)
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Blackfoot Police collaborated with Twin Falls Police on the investigation.
The baby box at Grove Creek was put in place in July, making it the first in the state where parents can surrender newborns safely and anonymously, according to KIVI.