College Student Charged In Death Of Newborn
Bill Schenley
in Infant's Death
Police: College Sophomore Took Shower
While Baby Was in Plastic Bag
FROM: The Erie Times-News ~
By Kara Rhodes and Lisa Thompson
Police said Teri Rhodes never told anyone she
was expecting.
But they said the 18-year-old, then a Mercyhurst
College sophomore, was thinking about how to
terminate her pregnancy.
They said she researched the topic on the Internet,
using her laptop computer to look up information
on "herbal abortion techniques," "what can kill a
fetus," and "alternative methods of ending
pregnancy."
Erie police and the District Attorney's Office spent
the five weeks since the infant girl's death building
a case against Rhodes, using records from Rhodes'
laptop computer and cell phone. Investigators also
reviewed medical records, including a sports
physical that Rhodes, who had been on the
Mercyhurst women's volleyball team, underwent two
days before she gave birth in the bathroom of her
on-campus apartment.
But either the Mercyhurst volleyball player never
tried, or she failed to end her unwanted pregnancy.
Instead, she was nine months pregnant when she
arrived back at Mercyhurst after summer break.
Two days later, on Aug. 12, Rhodes gave birth to a
6-pound baby girl in the bathroom of her apartment.
The baby died 10 minutes after she was born. Erie
County Coroner Lyell Cook said she had been
suffocated.
Rhodes on Tuesday was charged with criminal
homicide, accused of killing her child.
She also was charged with concealing the death of
a child, endangering the welfare of a child,
recklessly endangering another person, and abuse
of a corpse. If convicted, she could face a
maximum of life in prison, plus another 16 years.
"She somehow managed to hide her pregnancy from
everyone she came in contact with," Erie County
District Attorney Brad Foulk said. "But Ms. Rhodes
knew all along she was carrying an unborn child."
"The defendant made no attempt to seek medical care
and even went so far as to deny to medical personnel
that she had even given birth," according to the
complaint.
Rhodes was arraigned on the charges Tuesday
afternoon.
She sat alone and weeping at a table in the middle of
a small courtroom as Erie 5th Ward District Judge
Joseph Lefaiver read aloud every line of the four-page
criminal complaint describing the events that led to
her arrest.
Rhodes, her shoulders hunched and her arms
crossed over her stomach, followed along with a copy
of the complaint lying on the table in front of her.
Her parents, Mark and Mary Rhodes, sat in chairs
against the wall behind her.
Throughout the proceeding, Rhodes' mother looked
down, holding her head in her hands. After, she moved
to the table and hugged her daughter for a long time.
Then her daughter was led away in handcuffs.
"These are very serious charges you are being
accused of," Lefaiver told Rhodes.
Lefaiver asked Rhodes if she understood the charges.
"Yes, sir," she said.
Rhodes was taken to Erie County Prison, but less
than two hours later -- at 6 p.m. -- she was released
to her parents.
Erie County Judge John A. Bozza said she must post
$25,000 bond within 10 days or report to Erie County
Prison. He also ordered that she continue to reside
with her parents at their home in Commerce, Mich.,
near Detroit, and that she either obtain employment or
enroll in college there.
Police said Rhodes is no longer enrolled at Mercyhurst.
Rhodes' lawyer, Phil Friedman, did not return phone
calls seeking comment.
While Rhodes was awaiting her arraignment at
Lefaiver's office, Foulk outlined the case against her
at a news conference at the Erie County Courthouse.
He went over the criminal complaint, prepared by Erie
police Detective Lt. Ken Merchant and Detective
Lt. Daniel Spizarny.
The complaint indicates that Rhodes was asked before
giving birth whether she was pregnant.
In the first instance, a doctor giving Rhodes a
pre-sports physical Aug. 10 noticed that she appeared
pregnant.
"The Saint Vincent Sports Medicine doctor asked her if
she was pregnant," the complaint read. "She responded
that she didn't think so."
The doctor cleared her to play, and she practiced with
the team that same day, according to the complaint.
Rhodes also told investigators that she took a pregnancy
test at the urging of her volleyball coach.
Rhodes told police she took the test Aug. 11 and that
it was negative.
The next day, at about 1:30 p.m. Aug. 12, she gave birth
to the 6-pound baby girl in the bathroom of Apartment
No. 6 at 3810 Briggs Ave.
Police said Rhodes put the baby in a plastic bag and
placed it in the bathtub. They said she then took a
shower, with the baby lying at her feet.
By then, her roommate, concerned about the noises
Rhodes was making in the bathroom, had contacted
assistant volleyball coach Sarah King.
Rhodes told King that she was suffering from heavy
menstrual bleeding.
But King insisted on taking Rhodes to Saint Vincent
Health Center, where, despite repeated questions from
both hospital personnel and police, Rhodes at first
denied having given birth.
Eventually she admitted to having had a baby. But, she
told police, she had thrown the baby in a Dumpster on
Briggs Avenue.
Police said Rhodes finally admitted at 6:30 p.m. --
two hours after the baby was discovered by campus
police and the school's head volleyball coach -- that
she had left the baby in a plastic bag in the tub.
She said "that she'd thrown the baby in a Dumpster
when in fact the baby was still laying in the bloody
tub," the criminal complaint reads.
"She just tried to continue to hide it," Foulk said.
---
College Statement
Mercyhurst College Statement About Teri Rhodes:
"As the Mercyhurst College community continues to
cope with this terrible tragedy, our thoughts and
prayers go out to all those who have suffered as a
result. Now that the authorities have reached their
decision, we feel it only prudent to direct any further
comment relative to the case to the Erie County District
Attorney's Office. As is the Mercyhurst way, however,
we will look for ways to learn from this distressing
experience. We are home to more than 4,000 students
and we are committed not only to providing them the
best education possible, but to maximizing our
resources to ensure their overall well-being. Never can
we avert every tragedy. They are a part of life. But we
can and should learn from them, deal compassionately
with those who are hurting and double our efforts to
offer support to those who are in crisis."
Mercyhurst College issued this written statement Tuesday
through media relations manager Debbie Morton
---
The Charges
The Erie police, after consultation with the Erie
County District Attorney's Office, charged
Teri Rhodes with a general count of homicide.
The charge allows the prosecution to seek a range
of convictions, from involuntary manslaughter to
first-degree murder.
Rhodes is also accused of a series of other
charges. If convicted of all the most serious
charges, she would face a maximum sentence of
life in prison, plus another 16 years, according to
court records.
The sentencing judge can give a defendant less
than the maximum, except in cases where a
sentence is mandatory.
A summary of the charges against Rhodes:
-- General count of homicide
Can include:
First-degree murder, a premeditated killing.
A conviction is punishable by a mandatory sentence
of life in prison with no chance for parole. The
prosecution can also seek the death penalty, though
the District Attorney's Office has given no indication
that it is considering doing so in the Rhodes case.
Second-degree murder, or a murder committed
during a felony, likely does not apply to the Rhodes
case. It carries a mandatory life sentence.
Third-degree murder, an intentional killing with malice.
A conviction is punishable by a maximum of 20 to
40 years in a state prison.
Voluntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony that is
an unlawful killing committed with serious
provocation. It likely does not apply to the Rhodes
case. Conviction punishable by a maximum of 20 to
40 years in a state prison.
Involuntary manslaughter, an unlawful killing due
to gross negligence. In the Rhodes case, the charge
would be a second-degree felony because the victim
was younger than 12 years old. A conviction for a
second-degree felony carries a maximum sentence of
five to 10 years. Otherwise, involuntary manslaughter
is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a conviction carries
a maximum sentence of two and a half to five years.
-- Other charges
Concealing the death of a child -- first-degree
misdemeanor. Maximum sentence of two and a half
to five years.
Endangering the welfare of a child -- first-degree
misdemeanor or a third-degree felony, if the
allegations involve a course of conduct. Maximum
sentence of three and a half to seven years as a
third-degree felony. Maximum sentence of two and
a half to five years as a first-degree misdemeanor.
Recklessly endangering another person --
second-degree misdemeanor. Maximum sentence
of one to two years.
Abuse of a corpse -- second-degree misdemeanor.
Maximum sentence of one to two years.
Sources: Court records, state sentencing guidelines
---
Mercyhurst Volleyball Player Charged With Suffocating Newborn Baby
FROM: ESPN.com ~
By The Associated press
ERIE, Pa., Sept. 19
A Mercyhurst College volleyball player was charged
Tuesday with killing the baby she secretly gave birth
to in her campus apartment bathroom.
Teri Rhodes hid the pregnancy from friends and
teammates, told a doctor two days before the
Aug. 12 birth that she didn't think she was pregnant
and did Internet research on topics including "what
can kill a fetus," Erie police said.
After giving birth, the 18-year-old Rhodes put the
newborn in a plastic bag and left it on the floor of a
bathtub as she showered, according to the criminal
complaint.
Among other counts, Rhodes was charged with
homicide, abusing a corpse and concealing the death
of a child. Her attorney, Philip Friedman, declined
to comment.
The sophomore has been living at her parents'
house in Commerce, Mich., near Detroit. She was
freed on $25,000 bond Tuesday afternoon.
"The defendant made no attempt to seek medical
care and even went so far as to deny to medical
personnel that she had even given birth," the
complaint said. Rhodes "intentionally, knowingly,
recklessly or negligently caused the death of her
newborn baby girl."
The baby was full term, police said. A coroner
ruled the death a homicide, saying the infant girl had
been alive for about 10 minutes before being
suffocated.
A short time after Rhodes gave birth, the volleyball
team's assistant coach, Sarah King, took the
teenager to a hospital, unaware she had just
delivered a baby, police said in an affidavit.
Rhodes initially denied to hospital personnel that
she had given birth, but later admitted it after being
examined by a doctor, according to the complaint.
She told police she realized she was giving birth
when she went to the bathroom and saw the baby's
leg.
Rhodes first told police the baby was in a trash bin,
according to the criminal complaint. Later, she told
them the baby could be found on the floor of her
apartment bathroom.
Rhodes passed a sports physical that cleared her
to play volleyball two days before she gave birth,
police said. Rhodes told investigators the doctor
asked her if she was pregnant and she responded
that "she didn't think so."
A day later, Aug. 11, King asked Rhodes to get a
pregnancy test, Rhodes told police. On the day of
the birth, Aug. 12, Rhodes went to morning
volleyball practice, but didn't feel well and returned
to her apartment, police said. Within hours, she
gave birth, authorities said.
A search of Rhodes' laptop computer found that
she had done research on the Internet on topics
including "what can kill a fetus," "alternative methods
of ending pregnancy" and "herbal abortion
techniques," according to the criminal complaint.
Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk said
investigators know when Rhodes conducted the
searches, but would only say they were done "fairly
close to the incident."
Mercyhurst is a private, Catholic liberal arts college
with about 3,000 students located in Erie, PA.