She overdosed at Burger King and said she miscarried — but baby was alive in toilet, Ohio cops say
A Burger King manager checked on the woman around 2:30 p.m. Friday after she’d been holed up in a handicap stall for an “extended period.” She found the woman locked in the stall speaking incoherently, and assumed she was “on something,” a police report said.
Paramedics soon arrived at the scene and found 26-year-old Elizabeth Sanders, of Waverly, Ohio, sitting on the toilet. Blood was all over the stall, and a substance that appeared to be heroin was on the floor beside her, police said. Sanders told them she’d had a miscarriage.
Paramedics told Sanders to stand — and when she got up, the floating newborn rolled over so its face was down in the toilet water, according to police. A medic quickly scooped up the child and noted that it was breathing. Sanders and her newborn were transported separately to the hospital, according to police.
Meanwhile, Sanders’ boyfriend, 26-year-old Zachary Frey, was in the Burger King parking lot passed out on drugs, according to police.
Frey was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia. He has also been charged with operating a vehicle while impaired, WTTE reports.
Sanders was arrested on an unrelated theft warrant after she was released from the hospital. Interviewed in jail, Sanders told officers the baby was due Aug. 5 — two days after she gave birth. Sanders also said Frey was the father, according to the police report.
When detectives inquired about her child, Sanders said “he was showing some signs of withdrawals but was doing well,” the police report said. She told authorities she would go into rehab after she was released in hopes of getting custody of her child.
A Burger King manager checked on the woman around 2:30 p.m. Friday after she’d been holed up in a handicap stall for an “extended period.” She found the woman locked in the stall speaking incoherently, and assumed she was “on something,” a police report said.
Paramedics soon arrived at the scene and found 26-year-old Elizabeth Sanders, of Waverly, Ohio, sitting on the toilet. Blood was all over the stall, and a substance that appeared to be heroin was on the floor beside her, police said. Sanders told them she’d had a miscarriage.
Paramedics told Sanders to stand — and when she got up, the floating newborn rolled over so its face was down in the toilet water, according to police. A medic quickly scooped up the child and noted that it was breathing. Sanders and her newborn were transported separately to the hospital, according to police.
Meanwhile, Sanders’ boyfriend, 26-year-old Zachary Frey, was in the Burger King parking lot passed out on drugs, according to police.
Frey was arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs and drug paraphernalia. He has also been charged with operating a vehicle while impaired, WTTE reports.
Sanders was arrested on an unrelated theft warrant after she was released from the hospital. Interviewed in jail, Sanders told officers the baby was due Aug. 5 — two days after she gave birth. Sanders also said Frey was the father, according to the police report.
When detectives inquired about her child, Sanders said “he was showing some signs of withdrawals but was doing well,” the police report said. She told authorities she would go into rehab after she was released in hopes of getting custody of her child.
