Newborn Baby Found Dead In Bag In Upper Darby
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) -- A gruesome discovery in Delaware County. An investigation is underway after the body of a newborn baby was found in a bag. Officials would not say how old the baby was or if it was a boy or girl, but residents say the heartbreak they feel is personal.
"Awful thing to hear, awful thing to see. Like, it's just terrible," one woman said.
Shock and horror in Upper Darby after an infant was found abandoned and lifeless.
"Dumped it in an alleyway like it was trash. That's not OK," a woman said.
Officials say residents found the newborn in a bag near Snowden Road and Patterson Avenue around 4 o'clock Thursday afternoon.
"Hearing about it, I'm a mother. That's horrible, I couldn't imagine anything like that," Jessica Staten said.
Staten lives nearby. She says she was on her way to pick up her daughter from school when she saw the crime scene tape, a sea of officers and a sight she'll never forget.
"I literally came out, as I came out my alleyway and stand, you can see the baby on the ground and you can see like the cover on top of it as you come out my house," she said.
Investigators are reminding people that under Pennsylvania's safe haven law, parents can drop off a newborn under 28 days old with no questions asked.
"Anybody who is in any type of situation they're not comfortable with or not sure what they can do fire house, police department, any medical facility. You can call 911. Plenty of places where you can drop a baby off," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Barnhardt said.
"I believe it's probably like a young person didn't know what to do probably scared," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said.
Officers are now talking to witnesses and looking for surveillance as they try to find out who is responsible.