Mother arrested for abandoning newborn baby in bush

Mother arrested in Seattle for abandoning newborn in bush

A woman who abandoned her newborn in a bush was arrested in Seattle after a lengthy investigation, which began with a man reporting the dead infant on the "Find It Fix It App," police say.

SEATTLE - A woman who abandoned her newborn child in a bush directly after giving birth was arrested in Seattle on Tuesday after a lengthy investigation, which began with a man reporting the dead infant on the "Find It Fix It App," according to newly released court documents.

The investigation started on February 22, 2023, where the City of Seattle Animal Control advised Seattle Police of a submission on the Find It Fix It app. The report was titled "Dead baby abandoned in bushes" with a picture attached, and was submitted under the "Dead Animal" category, police said.

Police contacted the man who made the report and discovered the infant near Shilshole Avenue NW and NW Vernon Place In Ballard.

The man explained to officers he noticed the dead newborn as he went to pee in some bushes after visiting a friend at the Sunday Market. He said his wife and child were waiting in the car in a nearby parking lot, and he didn't call 911 because he did not believe it was an emergency, according to court documents.

Detectives also say the man claimed he reported it as a "Dead Animal" because there wasn't a tab for a dead human body.

Seattle detectives transcribed the man's reasoning for not calling 911, which said, in part:

"My experience with this kind of thing, with 911 is that I would have had to stay there, you know, until a responding officer came. I didn't know anything or have any information to provide other than this is where I found it. And also, it wasn't an emergency, you know there was clearly nothing done to help the child at that point. I didn't have any kind of information on how that happened. With my wife and kid there, I wasn't going to leave my kid in the car for, you know, an hour or so while police responded, and then I got interviewed, and all the, you know, all that sort of process. I've used the Find It Fix It app to report a lot of situations before that 911 wasn't, you know, wasn't there, I just didn't want to be stuck there for hours, you know it was already pretty traumatic and I just wanted to report it so something could be put in motion, but also just get out of there."

The man apologized for his reporting method, and officers explained to him that even though the child was dead, it would still be an emergency call since it involved a human being.

Police were not notified of the report until three days after it was submitted, as Animal Control did not receive it until after the President's Day holiday. Because of this, it was unknown how long the child had been there.

Seattle Police processed the scene and collected several items as evidence, including baby wipes found underneath and near the infant.

The King County Medical Examiner said the baby had fractures to its frontal orbital plate and signs of maternal drug abuse. The baby's cause of death was undetermined.

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After searching through a DNA database, detectives discovered a link between the dead infant and a man whose DNA was collected from a beer bottle in a 2004 investigation.

SPD got in contact with the man, who lived at an apartment complex in the University District.

According to court documents, the man seemed surprised to hear that the dead newborn was biologically linked to him through DNA. However, he did provide police with the name of a woman he had sex with in the last six to seven years, claiming he met her while living in his van.

The man said she doesn't have a phone number but would notify detectives when he gets in contact with the woman. He also said he would not tell her she was involved in a police investigation, as investigators requested.

Detectives say they called the man several times, but didn't get much of a response until June 6, 2024, when he called police and said he was with the woman.

Police reportedly told the man to put her on the phone, but when he agreed, there was no response. The man later got back on the phone and said he told her everything, and that police wanted to speak with her. Detectives say the man realized she had left his apartment shortly after.

On Tuesday, July 23, officers arrested the dead infant's suspected mother at the man's apartment complex. Police believe the two had been in continuous contact, but the man only notified officers of one of their contacts since 2023.

When asked about the incident that occurred on February 22, 2023, the woman responded with, "Oh yeah, that's when I had a baby. I didn't even know I was pregnant at the time," court documents state.

The woman reportedly said she gave birth in some bushes by the railroad tracks, and abandoned the child about four to five hours later. She also said she was on her knees when giving birth, and the baby made noises that sounded like an "animal, dog or cat" for about two to four minutes.

Detectives also say they observed the woman having conversations with herself during their interview. She said she was talking to "Echo and Bird," and kept asking detectives if the baby was "real," according to SPD.

The 41-year-old woman faces charges of second-degree manslaughter, reckless endangerment, and unlawful disposal of human remains. Her bail has been set at $150,000.