HOUSTON – The woman accused of leaving her newborn girl in a flower bed last week made her first appearance Monday night in a Harris County courtroom.
Sidney Woytasczyk, 21, said little during the hearing as prosecutors read the allegations listed on the warrant charging her with second-degree abandoning a child causing serious bodily injury.
Prosecutors said Woytasczyk admitted to having the baby and then abandoning her.
VIDEO: Woytasczyk appears in court
“She described the delivery,” the prosecutor said. “The officer asked if she had a boy or a girl and she stated, ‘A girl.’ The defendant stated she went outside without wrapping it. She did cut the cord.”
A judge set Woytasczyk’s bond at $20,000 after expressing concerns about the allegations.
“There are some pretty serious allegations contained within that warrant,” the judge said.
Woytasczyk was arrested after a man on his way to work Thursday morning found the crying infant, Harris County deputies said. They said investigators followed a blood trail to a nearby apartment, where they detained the mother and father.
VIDEO: Newborn found in flower bed
Woytasczyk said she did not know she was pregnant, and panicked when she figured it out, according to investigators. They said Woytasczyk expressed concerns about the child coming between her and her boyfriend.
The father was not charged in connection with the case.
A judge will decide who gets custody of the child, who is at a hospital recovering from a bacterial infection.
If convicted, Woytasczyk faces up to 20 years in prison.
