GUILTY SC - Jessica Blackham for abandoning newborn, Greenville, Feb 2011

KaylynnCouture

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A cleaning crew at the Bi-Lo Center found a newborn baby in a public restroom toilet on Friday night.

Greenville emergency medical services and police responded to a call at about 11:30 p.m. following a circus performance.

Sgt. Jason Rampey said a member of the cleaning crew found the baby in the women's restroom.

"He heard what he believed to be a child crying or whimpering," Rampey said. "He looked into the bathroom stall and observed a child in the toilet."

Rampey said investigators found evidence that the child was born in the bathroom.

Police said that the baby boy is alive and was taken to the Children's Hospital at Greenville Memorial Hospital where he was treated for hypothermia.

Police believe the child was born between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m. on Friday and they are currently seeking information that will help them identify and locate the mother. They said she likely needs medical attention.

"We don't think that it's physically possible that a mother would not know that she had given birth to a child, so we certainly think that the child was abandoned purposefully," Rampey said.

Snipped from http://www.wyff4.com/r/26756795/detail.html
 
These kind of cases are always gut wrenching for me because I can feel empathy for both the child and the mother. Good Lord, to go into a public restroom to deliver your child??? I have delivered two children in a hospital and I cannot IMAGINE having delivered either of them in a public restroom!!! I guess I can see where a very young person who never really knew they were pregnant (which I read about, but also do not understand) goes into labor and suddenly, there is a baby - there is panic - the mother runs. Then, my mind turns to this little child who enters the world into a cold, hostile, uncaring environment. Absolutely horrible and ultimately inexcusable. I am glad this little child survived. May God bless him/her in their future.
 
poor baby

hope they find the mother and charge her
 
i hope they find the mother and get her the medical attention she needs.... and the baby gets adopted out to someone who will love him and cherish him.
 
Sorry, but I don't care how scared the mom was, you don't leave a newborn crying baby inside a toilet bowl. Wrap the baby up and leave it on a hospital door step if you must--but not a toilet.
 
I wonder how long the circus performance was. My guess is they'll hear from a lot of female circus-goers who used the restroom during the show and heard noises coming from one of the stalls or even saw a woman walking with great difficulty into the restroom.

Poor little guy. I'm glad he's now in safe, loving care at the hospital. I also hope his mother is seen at a hospital immediately.

This in no way excuses the mother's actions, as her boy could have drowned, but if she wasn't receiving medical care she might have had no idea of her due date and not been expecting to deliver. It's likely she was with at least one other person at the circus, too.
 
This was on the Nancy Grace show tonight and they said the baby is in critical condition. So, the poor little baby isn't out of the woods yet. The baby needs our prayers for his survival and future health.
 
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/02/08/Search-for-mom-of-infant-found-in-toilet/UPI-37981297171973/

GREENVILLE, S.C., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Surveillance videos are being reviewed in hopes of identifying a woman who gave birth Friday night in an arena restroom in Greenville, S.C., police said. The newborn boy was found in a toilet by a Bi-Lo Center custodian who immediately called 911 for instructions on what to do, The Greenville (S.C.) News reported Tuesday.The infant, known as Baby John Doe, was taken to a hospital where he was treated for hypothermia. Dr. Lauren Demosthenes of Greenville Ob-Gyn Associates told WYFF-TV, Greenville, it is important that the infant's mother receive medical attention since she didn't give birth in a sterile setting. "Anything that's done in a non-sterile way can lead to some kind of infection," Demosthenes said. Greenville Police Chief Terri Wilfong said authorities are reviewing videotape taken in and around the restroom where the infant was found, CNN reported. Wilfong said several factors are complicating the search for the mother including the fact that she may have taken pains to hide her pregnancy and may not have been a local resident.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011...d-in-toilet/UPI-37981297171973/#ixzz1DNmIXiAy
 
Article: The baby is Caucasian and 10,000 people attended the circus that night. All evidence points to the baby being born in the restroom.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/08/AR2011020802720.html

This may be graphic, but I'm wondering if the "evidence" found was the placenta and whether the mother cut the cord? The placenta may not be delivered until sometime after the baby and I suspect she left soon after the baby was born and crying.
 
Babys condition improves, search continues for the mother

As the search continues for the mother of a newborn found in the toilet of a public restroom, police say they are screening video of a big crowd that attended a circus performance that night in hopes of spotting the mother.

The baby boy, found suffering from hypothermia in the BI-LO Center restroom Friday night, remains in the hospital, but the infant’s condition is improving, according to South Carolina Department of Social Services officials.

Greenville police Sgt. Jason Rampey said Tuesday that investigators are looking at surveillance video but are having difficulty because about 10,000 people attended the circus.

Rampey said the infant weighs about 6 pounds. The newborn is in critical condition at Greenville Memorial Hospital, but DSS officials said he is now considered stable.

There's also a transcript of the 911 call at link: http://www.wyff4.com/news/26791432/detail.html
 
Poor little guy, I am glad is he doing well now. I wish I could scoop up all the unwanted children :(
 
how horrible, how could you leave a living breathing newborn in a public toilet??? WTF?? i wonder how this child is going to deal with the fact that he was "discarded in a public toilet"... i really do think the world has gone mad
 
Thank god the baby is okay.

He's still in critical condition. They spent some time on this case on NG last night (she was positively livid about it). They interviewed a pediatrician who said the baby's chances are not very good. The baby would have aspirated some of that FILTHY water as he gasped for air. And depending on how long he was in there, the hypothermia could have caused permanent damage. Maybe NG will have some more info tonight.
 
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/7418892.html

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Authorities have arrested a woman they say left the infant she had just delivered in a toilet at a South Carolina sports and concert arena. Police Chief Terri Wilfong says the 25-year-old woman from Easley is a married mother of a 4-year-old. Authorities say Jessica Blackham was arrested on Tuesday night after she came to the Greenville police station accompanied by family members. She is charged with two counts of felony child abuse and one count of unlawful neglect toward a child. If convicted on all charges, she could face up to 50 years in prison. Officials said they could not immediately explain what Blackham may have been thinking when she gave birth Friday night at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville while attending a circus performance. Wilfong says the infant's prognosis is good.
 
I do not understand this. A 25-year-old, married mother? It would be a horrific thing to do to any living thing, but your own baby?

I just don't understand.
 
I do not understand this. A 25-year-old, married mother? It would be a horrific thing to do to any living thing, but your own baby?

I just don't understand.

Maybe this explains what she was thinking.

Authorities would not discuss the identity of the infant's father.
From above link.

She wouldn't be the first woman to kill a baby to hide an affair.
 
Maybe this explains what she was thinking.


From above link.

She wouldn't be the first woman to kill a baby to hide an affair.

I'm sure there is a story here, but I'm sorry - shouldn't matter who the father is - it's not a natural maternal instinct to leave your newborn baby in a public toilet. It's just not.
 

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