What Happened in the Hospital Room

A 19-year-old woman came to the hospital complaining of abdominal pain. She had tested positive on a pregnancy test, but she was denying she had ever had sex. Then she said she needed to use the bathroom. She was in there for a long time. When hospital staff knocked and finally got her to open the door, there was blood everywhere. She was trying to clean it up.

The staff brought her back to the examination room. A doctor began a vaginal exam. Meanwhile, a housekeeper was called to clean the bathroom. She put a fresh liner into the trash can, then placed a clean bag over the top of it. When she looked inside, she saw the baby — dead, placed underneath the clean liner so the trash can appeared empty from above.

The Discovery and Immediate Response

The hospital's charge nurse explained the situation to responding officers. The baby appeared to be full-term. The mother was bleeding significantly and needed to be transferred to a facility with obstetrics care. The staff had already called for an ambulance to take her to Lovelace, a hospital with a labor and delivery unit.