An Idaho teenager is facing a criminal charge after a newborn baby girl was discovered dead inside a Safe Haven Baby Box, according to authorities.
On Friday, Nov. 22, the Blackfoot Police Department stated via Facebook that one arrest had been made following the discovery that a deceased baby girl had been placed in a Safe Haven Baby Box on Oct. 13 at Grove Creek Medical Center, a labor and delivery hospital.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes enable parents to surrender healthy and unhurt newborns under 30 days of age to recognized facilities such as hospitals and fire departments. According to investigators, the infant had already died when she was placed in the box.
Angel N. Newberry, 18, has been charged with neglecting to disclose a death to law authorities and the coroner, which is a criminal offense. She was arrested during a police investigation in Blackfoot and neighboring Bingham County.
Newberry was placed into the Bingham County Jail, and police stated that “due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation and the potential for further criminal charges, we are limited in the information we can provide.” If convicted, the kid faces up to ten years in prison or a $50,000 fine.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes had stated in a statement last month that its boxes activate alarms when newborns are placed inside, and medical personnel at Grove Creek Medical Center “responded immediately to the alarm, indicating a baby was in the box.”
“Within a minute, the medical team had removed the infant from the bassinet.” “Upon removal, they quickly realized that the infant had died long before being placed in the baby box,” the NGO continued, explaining that when the baby girl was placed in the box, she was wrapped in a blanket and the placenta remained attached.
“We are heartbroken,” Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey said in a statement, citing Idaho’s Safe Haven Law, which only allows for the surrender of unhurt and healthy children.
According to the Safe Haven Baby Boxes website, the organization is the only one in the United States that offers parents of newborns an anonymous surrender option. In a statement, the charity stated that 52 infants have been surrendered at its baby box locations since 2017.
The locations of each box are documented on the nonprofit’s website.
In a Facebook post following Newberry’s arrest, the nonprofit simply noted, “This case has devastated our entire staff.”
According to court records acquired by PEOPLE, Newberry’s first court appearance occurred on November 22. She is next scheduled to appear before a court on December 5.