An 18-year-old woman was arrested in connection with the discovery of a deceased infant in an Idaho Safe Haven Baby Box last month.
Angel Newberry of Twin Falls, Idaho, was arrested on a felony charge of failing to report a death to law enforcement and the coroner, Blackfoot police said in a release on Friday.
Nearly six weeks before Newberry’s arrest, medical personnel at Grove Creek Medical in Blackfoot discovered a deceased infant inside its Safe Haven Baby Box.
The box is intended to allow custodial parents to safely and anonymously surrender a newborn under 30 days old without legal repercussions, but only if the child is unharmed.
“Unfortunately, the placement of a harmed or deceased infant is not protected under this system or Idaho law,” according to police.
Newberry was booked into the Bingham County Jail on a felony charge.
Blackfoot is approximately 250 miles east of Boise, Idaho.
According to a statement issued on Oct. 28, Grove Creek Medical Center staff responded immediately to a silent alarm that sounds when the baby box is accessed.
“The medical team removed the infant from the bassinet within a minute,” the group claimed. “Upon removal, they quickly realized that the infant had passed away long before being placed in the baby box.”
Safe Haven Baby Boxes described the incident as “an illegal, deadly abandonment.” Anonymity is only permitted when an infant is safely surrendered, completely unharmed.”
According to the group, when the baby was placed in the box, “she was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached.”
