By Dave Andrusko
A California newborn baby is in critical but stable condition after being left in a bag within a trashcan at a Fullerton gas station. Venissa Maldonado, 25, was charged with attempted murder and child abuse.
“A store clerk found the baby crying in the restroom at the Chevron station at 944 W. Orangethorpe Ave. Thursday afternoon, police said,” according to KABC. “There was no parent located in the area. The child was transported to a local hospital and was described as being in critical but stable condition.”
Having reviewed surveillance footage and used suspect vehicle information, Fullerton police detectives were “led them to serve a search warrant at about 1:45 a.m. Friday in the 400 block of West Orangethorpe Avenue.”
The infant, “located by an employee of the gas station, was inside of a bag that had been placed in the garbage receptacle,” CBS News reported, “Firefighters took the baby to a nearby children’s hospital in the City of Orange.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Since 1999, when Texas became the first state to implement Safe Haven Laws, an estimated 4,100 infants have been safely surrendered nationwide.”
Under the “Summary,” we read “The highest risk for infant homicide is on the day of birth. Because of this, by 2008, all 50 states and Puerto Rico had enacted Safe Haven Laws to address infant abandonment and endangerment.”
Since 2001, “California has had a Safely Surrendered Baby Law which seeks to reduce infant deaths by allowing parents to safely surrender their newborns at a hospital, fire station or other designated site within 72 hours of birth,” KABC reported, “The surrender can be done confidentially and without fear of prosecution.”