Teen charged in death of her newborn child
The S. Jersey girl, 14, delivered the boy in a public toilet. Officials said he drowned.
A 14-year-old South Jersey girl was charged with first-degree murder Thursday following the discovery of her newborn child in a public toilet, authorities said.
The girl, who was not identified by prosecutors because of her age, allegedly gave birth to a baby boy on Sunday in a restroom at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds. The body was discovered by a cleaning crew shortly before noon the next day.
As fiesta goers celebrated Cinco de Mayo outside, the Bridgeton girl delivered the child in a toilet bowl, said Ronald J. Casella, the county prosecutor.
The Bridgeton High School student then placed the baby into the toilet's attached water tank, causing the child to drown, Casella said yesterday.
Casella said he did not know if the infant had reached full term.
According to a report in the Bridgeton News, the girl gave birth to another child 13 months ago.
The girl does not have legal custody of that child, according to the newspaper. It was unclear yesterday how she was able to hide her second pregnancy from family and friends.
Casella said he could not comment or confirm if the girl had previously given birth before her 13th birthday.
Detectives broke the case after a local newspaper reported the discovery of the dead baby, Casella said. A family friend tipped the 14-year-old girl's father after reading the story.
"That got the investigation pointed in the right direction," Casella said.
Casella declined to say where the girl is being held.
"She is not in the detention center," he said, "but in a secure location."
He would not elaborate.
Casella said his office would decide if the girl would be tried as an adult.
"We need to look at what's in the best interest of the juvenile," Casella said. "And then we must weigh that against the nature of the crime and the need for society to prosecute those responsible for such crimes."