Alleged Nightclub Photos Part Of Investigation Into Utah Newborn Dumped In Trash Can
/ CBS Sacramento
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Police are seeking further details about photos that appear to show a Utah woman at a nightclub with a beer sometime before her newborn baby was dumped in a trash can.
Authorities said the pictures provided by KSL-TV could give officers more background on the case, though the images don't appear directly related to the allegation and it was unclear when the pictures were taken, said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal.
Alicia Marie Englert, 23, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder after the newborn was found in a neighbor's trash can.
The girl was born at home late Sunday or early Monday, Hoyal said. Englert told police she put the baby in a trash can an hour before it was found without providing any medical care or food.
Englert also told police she hid the pregnancy from her parents and hoped the newborn girl would die and solve her problems, according to a probable cause statement.
The baby was taken to a hospital and put on a ventilator. She remained critical Friday but was stable and showing signs of improvement, police said. No further details were released about her health issues.
The photos published Thursday appear to show Englert holding a beer and standing with another woman in a nightclub. Hoyal said investigators are looking at when the photos were taken, who is in them, and what new information they might provide. It was unclear who gave the pictures to the TV station.
Robert Englert said his daughter has a learning disability and has only recently begun to understand what she has done.
"I know she didn't realize, obviously didn't realize, what she was doing," he said.
It was unclear if Alicia Englert had retained an attorney.
Alicia Englert's cousin, Vania Schmidt, said the extended family has been devastated.
"She knew she could reach out to any one of us, we would have taken her in, gotten her to a doctor, gotten her help," she said.
Schmidt said Alicia Englert was partially raised by her aunt. As a child, she took an unusually long time to begin talking, Schmidt recalled, and while playing with other children, she would sometimes bite or scratch for no apparent reason.
"I could see innocence, I could see confusion, not knowing where she fit in," Schmidt said.
Schmidt said she hasn't talked to her cousin often in recent years.
Family members are planning a weekend fundraiser to aid the care of the baby and a candlelight vigil for the child on Sunday night.
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