An Idaho teen has been arrested and jailed after a dead newborn was found in a hospital drop-off box, where babies can be surrendered anonymously.
Angel Newberry, 18, was arrested in Twin Falls, Idaho, more than a month after medical personnel found the baby girl wrapped in a blanket with her placenta still attached in the Safe Haven Baby Box at the Grove Creek Medical Center in Blackfoot.
The news of Newberry’s arrest was shared in a social media post on Friday by the Blackfoot Police Department.
“The Safe Haven Baby Box is intended to safely and anonymously allow custodial parents to surrender a newborn under 30 days old without legal repercussions, provided the child is unharmed,” the post said.
The police department added, “Unfortunately, the placement of a harmed or deceased infant is not protected under the system of Idaho law.”
According to Safe Haven Baby Boxes, the hospital staff present when the newborn was placed in the box on Oct. 13 responded immediately to the alarm that a baby had been surrendered. This led investigators to believe the newborn had been dead long before she was abandoned.
Idaho law only allows the surrender of unharmed infants.
“We are heartbroken,” Safe Haven Baby Box founder Monica Kelsey said last month after the baby had been discovered. “Let this be clear: this is an illegal, deadly abandonment.”
Newberry has been charged with failing to report a death to law enforcement officials and the coroner, police shared in their post.
The investigation into the baby’s death remains ongoing at this time. Additional charges may come after officials discover more about how the baby died.
Newberry is being held at Bingham County Jail.