Teen Accused Of Killing Baby In Toilet Released To Parents
POSTED: Monday, July 14, 2008
UPDATED: 4:31 pm CDT July 14,
2008
HOUSTON -- A 14-year-old girl indicted in the death of her newborn baby in a school toilet was released to the custody of her parents, a judge ruled on Monday.
The judge originally denied the parents' request for custody of the eighth-grader while she awaits trial on a capital murder charge. Her identity was not revealed because she is a juvenile.
The family will be under the supervision of Harris County juvenile probation authorities.
The judge said on Monday that the girl was not a threat to herself or to others.
"We're very happy for (the teen). She's a little girl that needs to be home with her parents," defense attorney Gerald Yoakum said.
The girl gave birth to a 5-pound, 6-ounce boy in a girls' bathroom at Cedar Bayou Junior School in Baytown on April 2.
According to a probable cause statement, the girl first told a detective she did not know she was pregnant and did not know she had given birth.
She allegedly later told another detective that she knew she was pregnant because she had unprotected sex with a 15-year-old boy. Officials said she told that investigator that she saw the baby floating in the toilet bowl after he was born and also told a paramedic that she heard the baby cry.
An autopsy showed the baby was alive when he was born and apparently died as a result of having a piece of paper stuffed down this throat, which caused him to suffocate.
"I don't believe they can prove this child sat down on that toilet, said, 'I want to give birth,' and that's what they have to prove," Yoakum said. "She's a strong little girl, given her age."
Prosecutors have not yet decided if the teen will be certified as an adult.
The girl had been held at the juvenile detention center for about one month.
The teenager told her family that she wants to go back to school, take her TAKS test so she can get ready for high school.
Another hearing will be held on Aug. 26.
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