PA - Newborn son found in dumpster, mom, 15, charged with murder, Philadelphia, 31 Dec 2018

[cybervampira]

Girl, 15, arrested following death of baby found in dumpster

A teenage girl is under arrest following the death of her newborn son who was found in a North Philadelphia dumpster.

Police said it all began around 10:30 p.m. Monday when a woman approached officers at 22nd and Lehigh streets, three blocks away from where she had discovered the newborn in a dumpster.

Detectives say the woman informed them the baby had been placed there by her daughter's 15-year-old friend.

The baby was taken to Temple University Hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Jani Morris, 15, of Philadelphia, was arrested and charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child, abuse of a corpse, and related crimes, police said.



Teen charged with murder after baby found in Philly dumpster

15-year-old girl is arrested following death of her newborn son, who was left in a DUMPSTER | Daily Mail Online

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=234615080758625

 

[Charlot123]

A grave crime, but I feel sorry for her. A 15-year old kid, postpartum, possibly depressed, scared, and obviously, without any support. Where did she give birth to the child? How come her own parents/guardians did not notice she was pregnant?

Probably if we get the full story of the mother, she is at least neglected and very depressed.

 

[Trident]

A grave crime, but I feel sorry for her. A 15-year old kid, postpartum, possibly depressed, scared, and obviously, without any support. Where did she give birth to the child? How come her own parents/guardians did not notice she was pregnant?

Probably if we get the full story of the mother, she is at least neglected and very depressed.

Thank you for this post, it was kind, not judgmental.

If I'm adding correctly, the girl was probably 14 when she got pregnant, and we don't know the circumstances - it could have been rape or incest. Even so, she is nothing more than a baby, more to be pitied than condemned. I'm thinking he who is without sin can cast the first stone.

 

[Charlot123]

Thank you for this post, it was kind, not judgmental.

If I'm adding correctly, the girl was probably 14 when she got pregnant, and we don't know the circumstances - it could have been rape or incest. Even so, she is nothing more than a baby, more to be pitied than condemned. I'm thinking he who is without sin can cast the first stone.

I hope the judges will take her situation into the account. It could have been rape, or incest, or simply, a 14-year old kid who did not even how to get on the pills. The system could have failed this kid on so many levels, including the fact that a sexually active teenager was not on birth control. Also, one does not have baby hatches any longer.

Here are teens rights re contraception and family planning state by state. While PA's situation is not the worst, financial status could provide a barrier to teens' access to birth control.

Teen rights to sex ed, birth control and more in Pennsylvania - Sex, Etc.

I think she was just horribly scared and did not know what to do. It is not even infanticide, merely an extreme form of abandonment.

Now she is at a high risk for self harm. Beyond the shame, the milk had probably come, and no one to feed. I hope they will help her instead of punishing.

 

[TTF14]

Safe Haven laws/options/facilities need to be more widely promoted. I think the average kid knows nothing about this.

 

[cybervampira]

Philadelphia Teenager Charged With Murder After Baby Found in Trash

[...]

According to reports, a friend of Jani Morris, 15, told her mother what had occurred, and the woman hurried to locate the child. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that neighbor Diane Byrd saw the woman frantically calling out for help as she searched through garbage bags on the street.

She hurried over when the woman screamed after she located the child, who had been wrapped in shopping bags and then placed in a garbage bag.

“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,” Byrd exclaimed.

Others came out into the street to see what was happening.

“She was screaming,” Byrd recalled. “And then she put the baby in the back seat of her car.”

After attempts to call police were unsuccessful, the woman took off in her car to find the closest police station. She found officers just three blocks away.

The baby was transported to Temple University Hospital, but was pronounced dead.

“If she didn’t want the baby, she could’ve put it up for adoption. There’s other things that she can do,” neighbor Gina Finiello told CBS Philadelphia.

“It’s hurtful, that’s what it is. Very hurtful,” neighbor Dawn Jackson told WPVI-TV. “Maybe she was scared and didn’t know what to do.”

Pennsylvania has a safe haven law in place that allows mothers to surrender their newborn babies—up to 28 days old—at a hospital or police station without prosecution.

“If you are not able to care for your baby, all you have to do is bring your newborn … to any Pennsylvania hospital or to a police officer at a police station and drop it off. That’s all. As long as the baby is unharmed and not a victim of any crime, you will not be in any trouble,” the site PA Families outlines.

[...]

Because Morris instead discarded of the baby in the trash, she is now being charged as an adult with murder and endangering the welfare of a child.

[...]

 

[MimosaMornings]

Surely a teacher or parent noticed she was pregnant, how sad , a counselor could have told her about options for her baby.
I’m guessing she never saw a doctor either. Maybe the schools need to be sure information is provided in schools so teenagers don’t feel they have to hide newborn babies in the trash.

 

[Trident]

We NEED to tell these teens there is a better way. We NEED to get through to them in any and every way possible. Not only will it save the life of a child, but it will save the mother's life from being ruined.

 

[lsv7]

She has been moved from county jail to a juvenile detention center. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 16.

I also want to include a reminder that Philadelphia's docket sheet search is separate from the one for the rest of PA, for anyone else that wants to look for information.