Teen mother charged with manslaughter in baby’s slaying in Northern Liberties
District Attorney Larry Krasner said additional information is being sought in an ongoing investigation into the crime.
A 17-year-old Philadelphia girl who police say stabbed her newborn daughter to death with a pair of scissors has been charged with voluntary manslaughter, authorities said Tuesday.
District Attorney Larry Krasner said the girl — whom he did not identify — also faces charges of tampering with physical evidence and related crimes in connection with the baby’s slaying in Northern Liberties on Saturday.
The girl stabbed the infant at least six times not long after giving birth in the apartment where she lived with her family, according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing case.
She delivered the infant in the shower after concealing the pregnancy from her family, the source said, and after the killing, she put the baby’s body in a closet.
Medics were called to the residence on the 1100 block of North American Street that afternoon and declared the infant dead at 1:08 p.m.
The medical examiner’s office determined that the infant died from stab wounds to the chest and ruled the death a homicide, a spokesperson for the office said.
Homicide detectives recommended that the teen be charged with murder because they believe the killing showed a clear disregard for human life, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
Krasner, in announcing the manslaughter charge, said his office was working to learn more about the girl’s mental state before and after the crime, and said the charges could change depending on what is learned in the ongoing investigation.
“What is clear now,” he said, “is that this heartbreaking incident constitutes criminal homicide.” If the investigation justifies a change in the charges, “they will be modified in the future,” he said.
A source in the district attorney’s office said prosecutors do not believe a murder charge was warranted because such a crime requires malice, or a conscious intent to kill. Voluntary manslaughter, by contrast, is typically charged in cases where a defendant acts irrationally and in a “heat of passion,” said the source, who asked not to be identified to discuss an ongoing investigation.
In this case, prosecutors believe the teen mother was overwhelmed with emotion and not in sound mind after delivering a baby in an unplanned and concealed pregnancy, according to the source.
Research has shown that mothers who kill their children often suffer from mental illness. Krasner, in a statement Tuesday, said that any of the girl’s medical or psychiatric needs would be addressed.
“The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office remains committed to individual justice, including individual justice for women and girls of every age,” he said.
