Two people in Pennsylvania have been arrested - after being accused of killing their newborn baby which police say had been thrown from a second-story window to the street below.
Joshua Coleman Wooters, 19, and Emily Jane Dickinson, 20, allegedly let their little baby bleed to death less than a day after he was born, before tossing his body out of the second-story window of their home . The two were taken into custody and charged with one count each of criminal homicide, conspiracy, concealing the death of an infant, and abuse of a corpse, according to court records.
Wooters was also an additional misdemeanor count of obstruction of a law enforcement function. Pennsylvania State Police said that on March 11, troopers responded to reports of a dead male baby found in the street in McConnellsburg Borough at 8.45 am. At the scene, they found the newborn victim about 20 feet north of the intersection.
A bloodstained mattress, a placenta, and multiple disposable items were also found in a trash bag near the body of the little boy, who was pronounced dead on the scene. According to court documents, the Fulton County Coroner's Office determined that the newborn victim had been born less than 24 hours prior and the gestational age was approximately 36 or 37 weeks.
An autopsy found that the baby's cause of death was "exsanguination from the umbilical stump" - meaning he bled out after his umbilical cord was cut. When asking around for more information, a trooper spoke to Wooters, who denied knowing anything about the baby.
The investigation led police to the apartment where the two people lived, with their second-story window overlooking where the dead child was found. On April 1, troopers spoke to Wooters again, who denied having any knowledge about the incident. He also said he was a virgin and wouldn't even say the word "sex" properly, according to the Daily Voice.
On April 3, troopers obtained a search warrant at the couple's apartment where they reportedly found evidence of blood in the bedroom and bathroom. When investigators spoke to Wooters, he reportedly admitted the baby was his and Dickinson's, explaining that his "first reaction of something that's traumatic for me is, um, to lie."
He also said that Dickinson only told him she was pregnant in February and that he was too young to be a father. Reportedly, he said: "I'm only 19, like, do you really think a person that's the age of 19 should have a child, no, not at all, they're too immature."
According to investigators, Wooters said that Dickinson "picked up the baby as someone would pick up 'dog poop'" and carelessly cut the umbilical cord with a kitchen knife, without clamping it afterward. Allegedly, the woman then walked over to the bathroom window and threw the child from the second story to the concrete below.
Wooters then said after seeing the baby tossed from the window, he yelled "What the f- did you do?" at Dickinson, before throwing the other items in a trash bag and throwing it out of the window too. Neither of them called the emergency services.
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Dickinson was reportedly interviewed on April 11 in the presence of her attorney. It's reported she said that she gave birth at home, but believed the child had died just after she cut the umbilical cord. However, she said she believed that, due to blood loss, she was hallucinating that the child continued moving and crying. Despite being a certified nursing assistant, Dickinson also said she never attempted to perform CPR on her newborn.
DNA tests reportedly came back positive for the newborn victim being the child of Wooters and Dickinson, and a search of the mother's phone showed that she performed internet searches for pregnancy-related topics such as "abortion law" and "home birth how long does the bleeding last."
The couple are currently being held in the Bedford County Jail. They were both denied bond because they are both facing possible sentences of life in prison.
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