A 25-year-old woman was arrested after an abandoned newborn was found Thursday in a trash can in a restroom at a Fullerton gas station.
The baby was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.
Fullerton Police Department officers responded at approximately 3:30 p.m. to the station in the 900 block of Orangethorpe Avenue, near Euclid Street, regarding a possible abandoned newborn inside a restroom, said Sgt. Ryan O'Neil. After finding the baby, officers began life-saving measures on the infant and called paramedics from the Fullerton Fire Department, who took the baby to a hospital,.
A Fullerton woman was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and felony child abuse. Security camera video and information about a vehicle connected to the case helped officers locate the woman, police said.
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Under the state's Safely Surrendered Baby Law, a parent or person with lawful custody can surrender a newborn confidentially, and without fear of prosecution, within 72 hours of birth. The law requires the baby to be taken to a public or private hospital, designated fire station or other safe surrender sites designated by the county Board of Supervisors.
The law was created in January 2001 and signed permanently into California law in January 2006. When a baby is surrendered, a bracelet is placed on the baby for purposes of identification. A matching bracelet is given to the parent or guardian in case the baby is reclaimed. A person with lawful custody has 14 days from the date of surrender to reclaim the child.
The law mandates that a medical questionnaire be offered, but there is not requirement to fill it out. The document's only purpose is to provide medical information that might help the infant survive. Any identifying information is confidential.
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Anyone with information about the abandoned infant was asked to call Detective Marcus Saenz at 714-738-5361. Anonymous calls can be made to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS or sent to occrimestoppers.org.
