Law enforcement, witnesses speak on fetus found in Grovetown Walmart trash can

GROVETOWN, Ga. (WJBF) – The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a case involving a dead fetus found in a trash can at the Walmart off of I-20 in Grovetown on Tuesday.

An investigator with the sheriff’s office told NewsChannel 6 the fetus was miscarried, and the parents notified Wellstar MCG Health after it was disposed of in a trash can in the Walmart parking lot.

“The family was really cooperative and told them everything that transpired and the hospital contacted us,” said Investigator Philip Clark.

Deputies and other first responders arrived on the scene to confiscate the fetus at around 6 p.m.

Based off conversations with the family, Inv. Clark believes the miscarriage caught them off guard.

“It’s not something that people deal with very frequently and I think they just kind of panicked,” he said.

He said the fetus was not old enough to survive outside of the womb.

“Normally it would be around twenty-four weeks and this one does not appear to be anywhere near that age – way earlier,” he said.

There are not many regulations in Georgia regarding how to dispose of a non-viable fetus, so now law enforcement is investigating to see if there was any criminal intent.

“It’s something we have to look into code sections about, see what we can find if there is anything,” Inv. Clark said.

We spoke with one woman who was there when the fetus was found.

“There were tarps being placed over the trash can and I immediately wanted to try and document and figure out what’s going on,” said Briana Alley. “Regardless of whatever your situation is, you can always bring a baby or a deceased fetus to the hospital or give it a proper burial.”

Other witnesses we spoke to agree that it should’ve been handled differently.

“I’m a mother of three and I do know what it’s like to see blood like that because I hemorrhaged with my daughter,” said Brianna Underwood. “And I know it’s awful and it’s gruesome, and I feel like when they seen that they should’ve went and got medical personnel.”

The sheriff’s office is working with the GBI to do an autopsy on the fetus. Investigators say if you find yourself in a similar situation, contact your doctor or call 911 before disposing of the fetus.

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