Colorado mother sentenced to 4 decades in prison for newborn baby's murder

A Douglas County woman has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for the death of her newborn baby. Peyton M. Green was arrested more than three years ago after the baby's body was found hidden in a bathroom cabinet at her home. 

The investigation began when Green arrived at the UCHealth Highlands Ranch emergency room with concerns over vaginal bleeding. She consented to a Sexual Assault Nurses Examination, or SANE exam where medical staff found Peyton had extensive vaginal lacerations consistent with giving birth. 

According to documents, the blood work also showed Peyton was pregnant. Through an ultrasound, doctors confirmed that Green's cervix was dilated, consistent with a pregnancy.

Green denied ever having intercourse or giving birth. Deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office searched the home where she lived and found the baby's lifeless body inside a tan grocery store bag underneath a towel in the cabinets below a bathroom sink. 

Detectives found texts exchanged with Green's ex-boyfriend in Colorado Springs and another friend where Green stated that she was pregnant. 

An autopsy revealed the infant was a live birth. 

On Thursday, Green, 22, pleaded guilty to child abuse- knowingly and recklessly causing death. 

"Had this mother told the truth about her pregnancy or called for help after giving birth, this tragedy may have been avoided," District Attorney John Kellner said in a statement. "There were multiple ways to handle an unwanted or unexpected pregnancy, but her selfish and deceitful actions to hide a birth by dumping her newborn's body in a bag like a piece of trash certainly warrants a lengthy prison sentence."