Idaho teen arrested after dead infant found in hospital baby box

An Idaho teenager has been arrested in connection with the body of an infant found last month at a hospital in a box meant for people to anonymously give up a newborn, police said Friday.

The Blackfoot Police Department said in a social media post that an 18-year-old from Twin Falls, about 130 miles (210 kilometres) southeast of Boise, had been arrested there and booked into the Bingham County Jail.

She was arrested on a felony arrest warrant for failing to report a death to law enforcement officials and the coroner, police said.

Police in Blackfoot responded to a report Oct. 13 of a deceased baby left at Grove Creek Medical Center. Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey has said hospital staff responded immediately to an alarm indicating a baby was in the box and realized that the infant had died before being placed inside.

Idaho law only allows for the surrender of an infant who is unharmed.

“The Safe Haven Baby Box is intended to safely and anonymously allow custodial parents to surrender a newborn under 30 days old without legal repercussions, provided the child is unharmed,” police said in the social media post. “Unfortunately, the placement of a harmed or deceased infant is not protected under this system or Idaho law.”

The baby had been wrapped in a blanket, and the placenta was still attached, Kelsey said previously.

Police said they weren’t releasing further information in part because more charges could be filed.