Mother Arrested After Dumping Newborn Baby in Store Trash

Mother Arrested After Dumping Newborn Baby in Store Trash
A stock photo of a Walmart sign. (Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)
The Associated Press
12/25/2016
Updated:
12/25/2016

A woman is in custody after authorities say she gave birth in a Walmart bathroom, then dumped the newborn in a trash can before leaving the store.

WBRZ-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2i3vOCN ) New Roads police arrested 34-year-old Kyandrea Thomas at about noon Saturday after she checked into Lane Memorial Hospital in Zachary. She faces an attempted second-degree murder charge.

Around 8 p.m. Friday, police and firefighters responded to reports of an unresponsive baby left in a store’s bathroom. Firefighters performed CPR on the girl before rushing her to Pointe Coupee General Hospital. By 10:15 p.m., doctors said the infant was stable but critical. She’s since been transported to Our Lady of The Lake Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge.

Lt. Shael Stringer reminds desperate parents that under the state’s safe haven law babies can be dropped off at hospitals, police or fire stations with no questions asked.

Thomas was also arrested in 2009 on a negligent homicide charge after leaving a young child in a hot car.