FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A 20-year-old Palm Coast woman was taken into custody after a newborn was found buried in a shallow grave behind her home, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said, as reported by our sister station WKMG in Orlando.
The 20-year-old woman is being held pending an aggravated-manslaughter-of-a-child charge after investigators responded to a welfare check about an adult woman and located the infant in the backyard, according to the sheriff’s office.
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The sheriff’s office said law enforcement responded to a home near the intersection of Florida Park and Forest Hill drives in Palm Coast on Friday.
In a news conference, deputies said the welfare-check call came about 4 a.m., when a friend who had received messages saying a woman had secretly been pregnant and unexpectedly given birth asked deputies to check on her.
The woman told investigators she delivered the baby in a toilet, that the infant cried at first and then stopped moving and breathing, and that she hid the child in a duffel bag before later burying the infant at about 10 p.m. the previous night, according to the sheriff’s office.
“It’s tragic for the child, for everyone. And it baffles me. I could never imagine being able to do that," said Chief Deputy Joe Barile.
Investigators said the baby was female and weighed about 3 pounds, 6 ounces, and measured almost 19 inches long. The medical examiner is still determining the cause and manner of death and other forensic details.
The sheriff’s office said the woman was initially reluctant to speak with deputies but later led them to the grave and gave a statement about the birth and her actions afterward. Deputies said the grave was very shallow — investigators had to remove about 4 to 5 inches of dirt to uncover the infant — and that the child had been wrapped in a towel.
Investigators said they believe no one else in the household knew the woman was pregnant. Officials said the woman attended a local college and that only her mother was at the home; they said the baby’s father’s whereabouts are unknown and that interviews are ongoing.
The sheriff’s office said charges were expected to be filed after deputies complete medical clearance.
Anyone with information should contact the sheriff’s office at (386) 313-4911.
During the news conference, Barile noted Florida’s Safe Haven law, which allows parents to anonymously surrender newborns up to 30 days old at hospitals, emergency medical stations, or fire stations without fear of prosecution, provided the baby is unharmed.
Barile added that a Safe Haven Baby box was activated on Sept. 30 at Fire Station 25.