An 18-year-old woman has been arrested after police found the body of a newborn baby girl dumped in a trashcan, on Jan. 24.
The body was first discovered by police who was called to the scene by a resident in the area. The resident said she had found “something bloody in her residential trash toter and found blood on her driveway near her gate.”
Police said Hamilton failed to seek medical attention for herself or her child after giving birth. The 18-year-old’s family said they did not know Hamilton was pregnant or that she had given birth to a child that morning.
“They were actually shocked. They were appeared to be devastated by what had occurred. They really did not know,” Clovis Police Chief Matt Basgall said in a press conference.
Authorities located Hamilton and transported her to the hospital for medical treatment. Police said Hamilton was a college student without any criminal history.
The exact cause of death of the newborn is still unknown but police are actively investigating it, police said.
The discovery of the newborn in the trashcan was a shock for the quiet neighborhood.
“Anything that anybody who has any issues with out there needs to understand that there are options out there. There’s plenty of adoption services. There’s safe surrender sites. There’s people who you can talk to. There’s counselors. There’s just resources everywhere,” Basgall said.
“You can come to the police department. We'll help you. We don’t want to see this happen,” he added.
Hamilton was booked on charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering physical injury to a child, according to the police. Additional charges may be added following police investigations.
