Woman pleads guilty to concealing stillborn birth in restaurant bathroom

BOWLING GREEN — A woman arrested just over two months ago after reportedly giving birth to an infant found dead in a restaurant bathroom pleaded guilty Wednesday to a criminal charge of concealing the birth of a stillborn infant.

Shaniqua Caldwell, 34, entered the guilty plea to the misdemeanor count Wednesday in Warren District Court.

Caldwell was arrested May 30 by the Bowling Green Police Department after someone called police to report a woman bleeding in the bathroom at IHOP, 3240 Scottsville Road, who had possibly miscarried.

The caller reported that a baby was in the toilet, and other witnesses said the woman had attempted to flush the baby down the toilet, an arrest citation said.

The infant was found deceased in the bathroom, and after witnesses reported that a woman had given birth and then walked away from the restaurant, Caldwell was found shortly afterward by police in the parking lot of a neighboring business, where officers took her into custody for an emergency mental health evaluation and charged her with concealing the birth of an infant, court records show.

Caldwell was taken by ambulance to The Medical Center for further evaluation and booked later that night at Warren County Regional Jail.

Soon afterward, Caldwell was transported to Western State Hospital, a state-run psychiatric facility in Hopkinsville.

In court on Wednesday, Warren District Judge Brent Potter asked Caldwell whether she understood her rights, acknowledged the facts of the case resulting in the charge against her and whether she was pleading guilty voluntarily.

Potter also asked Caldwell whether she would seek a trial or enter a guilty plea if she were released on a surety bond, with Caldwell confirming that she wished to plead guilty.

“I don’t want you to think that pleading guilty is the only way for you to get out of jail,” Potter said.

Caldwell accepted a plea offer that recommends a 90-day jail sentence with credit for 70 days served.

The remaining 20 days would be conditionally discharged for two years and would not have to be served if she commits no new violations in Kentucky and follows the recommendations of Western State doctors.

Under Kentucky law, a person can be charged with concealing the birth of an infant if they are suspected of concealing the corpse of a newborn child with the intent of hiding the fact of its birth or to prevent a determination of whether it was born dead or alive.

Assistant Warren County Attorney Lawson Lambert said the Warren County Coroner’s Office issued a report determining that the infant was stillborn.

Lambert said Caldwell provided authorities with a Georgia address.