Girl, 14, kills her newborn baby at school
Pastor Dale Morgan
Girl, 14, kills her newborn baby at school*
Teen gives birth, suffocates, drowns newborn boy
Posted: June 27, 2008
Houston Chronicle
A 14-year-old Texas girl has been arrested and charged with murder after
she allegedly killed her newborn baby in a school bathroom.
Baytown, Texas, police said the eighth-grade student submerged the 7
pound infant in a Cedar Bayou Junior School toilet and jammed toilet
paper down his throat so he wouldn't cry, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Police have been investigating the incident since the baby was found
April 2.
The baby also suffered blunt trauma to his head and neck, according to a
Harris County autopsy.
Gerald Yoakum, the girl's attorney, claims she wasn't aware that the
baby was in the toilet because she was bleeding profusely. The teenager
who claims not to have known she was pregnant wore loose clothing to
hide her growing belly.
"Please remember that this is a 14-year-old child who has experienced a
tragic event," he wrote in a statement.
Yoakum said he plans to work with authorities to ensure "only the facts,
not opinons and speculations, will control this case."
Her attorney said the teenager is mourning her baby's death and saw him
for the first time at his June funeral. The girl named the 7-pound,
16-inch baby "Johnny."
Prior to the baby's delivery, she visited the nurse's office and
complained of painful menstrual cramps. The nurse gave her a heating pad
and told her to lie down for a few hours before she returned to class.
The teenager then went to the bathroom where she delivered the baby.
When medical help arrived, they took the student to the hospital, and
the newborn was pronounced dead. Medical examiners said the death was
not accidental and ruled it a homicide, the Chronicle reports.
Authorities say "Johnny" cried at least one time before the 14-year-old
girl attempted to flush him down the toilet.