Teen who tossed her newborn from window gets probation
OMAHA, Neb. -- A Nebraska 16-year-old who admitted throwing her newborn out a second-floor window has been sentenced to probation and sent to a group home for causing the baby’s death.
The Omaha World-Herald reports that a judge also told the girl Friday that she must undergo therapy, delete her Facebook account and perform community service.
The girl had pleaded guilty. The Associated Press generally doesn’t name juveniles charged with crimes.
Police say she gave birth Sept. 30 at her mother’s apartment in Omaha, Nebraska, tossed the child out the window, then told her mom. The mother told police she immediately went down and found the baby, called 911 and began CPR. The child was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine has said that what the girl did wasn’t planned, that “it was more of a panicked reaction.” Deputy County Attorney Jennifer Chrystal-Clark had asked for the teen to be placed in the group home in part because of comments the teen made that drew concern she didn’t understand the severity of her actions, the paper reports.
An autopsy determined the baby was delivered prematurely, at about seven months, but was born alive and died of head injuries sustained from the fall. The child reportedly weighed about two pounds.
Rebecca McClung, the teen’s defense attorney, said in court the teen thought the baby was stillborn, the paper reports.
The teen was initially charged as an adult with one count of felony child abuse resulting in death, the paper reports, and could have faced 20 years to life in prison if convicted.
In February, the teen reportedly admitted to the crime and the case was transferred to juvenile court.
