A Utah mother was arrested Tuesday night after dumping her two-day-old baby girl in her neighbor’s trash can and leaving the infant to die. According to Detective Jared Richardson, the baby is currently in critical condition and on a ventilator at Salt Lake City hospital. The baby girl’s mother, 23-year-old Alicia Marie Englert, told officers that she was too scared to tell her parents she was pregnant and hoped that the infant’s death would solve her problems. Englert also told the police that the baby was in the trash for roughly an hour before she was discovered. The infant had not received any food or medical care since birth. Shortly after the little girl was found, Englert was arrested on suspicion for attempting to murder her baby.
Englert’s parents stated to the Utah police that they tried to explain to their daughter the severity of what she had done, but the woman did not completely understand why her act of abandonment and attempted murder was such a big deal. Robert Englert, the woman’s father, mentioned to The Associated Press that he is aiming to ensure everyone is safe but did not comment further. Earlier that day, he stated to other Utah media outlets that his daughter had a learning disability and did not comprehend that her actions of dumping her baby in her neighbor’s trash can were wrong. The Utah mother was arrested and is still being held in the Salt Lake County Jail.
Robert continued by saying that his daughter did not even know that what she did was a crime and that what she did was not okay. He also said that he does not know who the infant’s father was. Englert’s mother, Tammy Englert, said that her daughter had recently gained weight but she had no idea that she was pregnant.
The infant was discovered Tuesday morning by a neighbor in Kearns, a suburb of Salt Lake City, after she thought the baby’s cries came from a kitten meowing in the trash can, officers said. The baby girl was then immediately airlifted to the hospital.
Police officers have learned where the mother gave birth to the infant, but are not releasing the information due to the ongoing investigation. Sheriff Jim Winder from Salt Lake County stated at a news conference that there were no visible injuries to the child, and that details about the child’s father are still unknown. He continued by saying that the Utah mother made a very terrible decision.
Ironically, the abandonment occurred in Utah, a state that allows mothers to drop off newborn babies at hospitals without any consequences. The incident prompted officials to remind residents that there are resources available for expectant as well as new mothers, which include a crisis hotline. During a news conference on Tuesday, the Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams along with health officials stated that new mothers can leave newborn infants at hospitals without being interrogated and will not have to answer for choosing to leave their child behind.
Utah mother Alicia Marie Englert was arrested after she dumped her baby in a neighbor’s trash can Tuesday morning. The woman has a learning disability and apparently does not understand the extreme consequences for her actions.
By Amy Nelson
Sources:
Yahoo! News
Daily News
Christian Science Monitor
