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Charges Considered in Buried Fetus Case Save Email Print
Posted: 9:07 AM Jul 25, 2008
 Last Updated: 9:07 AM Jul 25, 2008
 Reporter: WSAZ News Staff
Email Address: news@wsaz.com
32 comments
A | A | A

ATHENS, Ohio (WSAZ)-- Athens County Prosecutor Dave Warren says charges are being considered against a Hollister woman who miscarried and buried the body of the fetus in her backyard.

She told investigators she was doing drugs at the time and tried to hide what happened for fear of being charged with murder.

Her name has not been released.

Warren says officers using a cadaver dog searched the property earlier this week but did not find a body.

The incident happened three weeks ago, but authorities learned about it just this week.
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Posted by: outraged!!!! on Jul 30, 2008 at 04:00 PM
Sad,,eight months ago and was alive and thrown out in trash!!! if people are gonna report on things like this,report the facts!!!
Posted by: Read The Paper on Jul 29, 2008 at 10:58 PM
It says in the Athens Messenger that she took the fetus and wrapped it in a towel and threw it in the trash. Also she admitted to being scared that her "heroin" use caused the miscarriage. Plus there are two people being charged for obstructing justice. So NO it wasn't anything prescribed like Paxil. It's a shame because there are people out there that would give anything to have a child. This baby didn't even have a chance. That's sad. Read the newspaper!!
Posted by: Jennifer on Jul 29, 2008 at 11:53 AM
There's no excuse for an act like this unless you are mentally challenged. The laws are too lenient in this country. They need to make the time fit the crime
Posted by: Beth Ann on Jul 28, 2008 at 07:55 PM
Karly your wrong, there are people out there that would have wanted that baby.
Posted by: Anonymous on Jul 28, 2008 at 03:22 PM
this baby was almost full term, not buried, thrown in the trash read the athens messenger
Posted by: Anonymous on Jul 28, 2008 at 02:44 PM
My sister had a miscarriage at 6 months. The doctors did not classify this as "stillborn" It was a miscarriage. And yes they can happen at any stage in a pregnancy
Posted by: Amanda on Jul 27, 2008 at 05:58 PM
To those saying that she "miscarried" and that is not murder- read the story- when you miscarry- the baby is usually not even big enough to be seen. If she miscarried- how was there a body to be found? More likely it was stillborn, and like the story says- she was doing drugs and most likely caused its death.
Posted by: Anonymous on Jul 27, 2008 at 03:10 PM
all of this info is wrong, i know who this is and it is worse then what you have on here.
Posted by: disgusted on Jul 27, 2008 at 09:02 AM
i think that if a woman does drugs, knowing she is pregnant and has a miscarriage she should be charged with murder,that poor baby has feelings and as for the law saying its not considered a baby until its born is the most ridiculous crap i have ever heard, no one knows exactly what a baby goes through during an overdose, but it ends in death and how is that NOT murder.
Posted by: natalie on Jul 26, 2008 at 10:03 AM
i agree with alright. there are several babies in the nicu that are addicted to drugs. you don't see the police charging the mothers for that. if someone does miscarriage, the remains is thrown in the trash. like someone said doctors perform abortions daily some at 8 months term and they are not charged with murder. why is there a case?
Posted by: Dr. Ann on Jul 26, 2008 at 10:02 AM
CORRECTION: PAXIL IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE WITH TERRIBLE WITHDRAWAL AND, LIKE ALL ANTIDEPRESSANTS, CAUSES MISCARRIAGE!! Why would the state not prosecute a drug maker for this? If someone slipped a drug into a drink to cause a mother to miscarry would they prosecute? Most likely. These companies are killing babies daily and getting away with it. Why?! Of course if it does not cause miscarriage it can take the baby out another way. The most popular antidepressant on the market, Effexor, has "homicidal ideation" listed as a side effect - constant ruminating thoughts of killing and how to kill. Andrea Yates had been prescribed one and a half times the maximum dose of Effexor before drowning her five children. In fact the large majority of moms killing their children are on an antidepressant when they do so. WAKE UP TO AMERICA'S REAL DRUG PROBLEM!!!!!!
Posted by: Karly on Jul 26, 2008 at 06:34 AM
I agree, how far along was she? I mean you can miscarry very early-and actually her doing drugs would most likely have made it very difficult to carry the baby to term, and im sorry but it doesnt sound like she was ready to be a mom and so we would have had yet another drug-addicted baby born into this world with no one wanting it...I'm NOT defending her but I CAN understand her to a degree-really it depends how far along she was tho!
Posted by: nurse on Jul 26, 2008 at 04:08 AM
Unknown. Know this, when you go to get help for this, you recieve more but different drugs. U also don't know thats what caused the miscarraige. U wouldn't believe the addicts that carry to term. Also, so many people r being referred to the "pain" clinic anymore, it's no wonder so many are addicted. Know the facts, 9 times out of 10 this woman was young, and probably freaked and reacted. Saw too many tv shows, and got scared. People like you feed off of drama. Girl I hope everything gets straight, so many judge, and doesn't realize it could be them next. Don't judge unless you've walked in their shoes. Wait till you get the facts, I'm hoping she was just scared, and if she was, can you imagine how hard burying that child was and how scared she was doing it. Prayer is powerful.. and she needs quite a few.
Posted by: Wv Hillbilly on Jul 26, 2008 at 01:24 AM
We all need more info on this one,we dont know anything really.
Posted by: come on on Jul 26, 2008 at 12:12 AM
You people who think this woman did nothing wrong need to be smacked. Is it the baby's fault that she was conceived? The mother whoever she is, had sex with someone so she could get her next fix. As a result she got pregnant. Pregnancy is not an illness and we have got to stop treating it that way. I don't care if the two didn't intend on having a child. Any person with a brain after seeing an sonogram and hearing the heartbeat can tell this is a human life. For someone to continue to do drugs while pregnant should be considered a criminal. If you had a two year old and let him drink alcohol and he died wouldn't it be considered gross child neglect causing death. Come on, I see no difference.
Posted by: unknown on Jul 26, 2008 at 12:07 AM
I think that this girl needs to be sentenced to life for murder, child abuse and neglect and drug charges.. Weather or not she is being charged with drugs or not if she was ne kind of mother or just ne kind of person she would have went to the doctor and got help.. I would befor I would let my baby die from something stupid that I did... There is no excuse for this... She needs put away for life..
Posted by: Cindy on Jul 25, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Paxil is not addictive, she gave birth and buried the baby SHE IS A MURDERER..When you are pregnant and have a child, a GOOD mother does not use drugs.. drugs and alcohol are a choice NOT an addiction.. so tired of the excuses for weak people.
Posted by: eye in the sky on Jul 25, 2008 at 11:00 PM
if she does drugs sterilize her and this wont happen again
Posted by: MOM on Jul 25, 2008 at 10:28 PM
IF SHE WAS KNOWINGLY DOING DRUGS WHILE PREGNANT, THEN SHE KILLED THE BABY. SHE AHD A CHOICE THE BABY DIDN'T.JESUS HAS A ROCKING CHAIR.
Posted by: Old Mom on Jul 25, 2008 at 10:11 PM
To: New Mom, who on earth said anything about money?? And if she murdered the baby, I doubt she would have told the authorities about it when it wasn't necessary. Women who use drugs while pregnant, almost without exception are addicted. They can't just stop. They avoid prenatal care for fear of being jailed. When is the public going to start seeing addiction as a public health problem instead of simply a criminal issue? When we have a prison on every street corner??
Posted by: Andrea on Jul 25, 2008 at 10:05 PM
Good grief! Help this woman get some treatment! She's not a criminal, she's sick!
Posted by: Beth Ann on Jul 25, 2008 at 10:05 PM
It sounds to me it was murder, this is what she told the police. Quote "She told investigators she was doing drugs at the time and tried to hide what happened for fear of being charged with murder."
Posted by: Beth Ann on Jul 25, 2008 at 06:40 PM
I so agree with you New Mama.
Posted by: Womens View Points on Jul 25, 2008 at 05:05 PM
This case is hard to comment on because their is not enough information given. Having a miscarriage is not killing a baby. A lot of women say they have had miscarriages,even in the commode! One would think that most woman would go to the hospital after having a miscarriage. Burying a baby that you miscarried is not murder. It's odd to bury it in the backyard !! Maybe someone would for different reasons such as not wanting people to know, being mental,or not beig able to afford a funeral,some self personal reason if you miscarry, being on drugs they say, alters the mind! Maybe the mother is telling the truth about being scared because she takes or was taking drugs! Maybe she made it all up! Until they find the remains or body, all they have to go on is the mothers word! Unless someone else know what happened!
Posted by: Don't Be So Judgmental on Jul 25, 2008 at 04:06 PM
Seriously, seeing some of these comments is disgusting. Have a little more consideration for what this poor woman may be going through. Drug addicts need HELP, not condemnation. She didn't intentionally hurt or kill anyone, and of course the drugs made her unable to think or reason clearly about the situation. Shame on you who judge this woman without having any other facts than she's an addict and she miscarried. Besides which, how do any of you know for certain it was the drugs that caused her to miscarry? Plenty of addicts carry their babies to term, and plenty of sober women miscarry all the time. Try showing a little compassion instead of ignorance.
Posted by: Mother of 3 on Jul 25, 2008 at 02:21 PM
I had a miscarriage while taking the antidepressant Paxil. How do you know this was not the drugs she was addicted to. And no I did not jump on the bandwagon and sue the makers of Paxil for my miscarriage for those of you who are wondering.
Posted by: FED UP on Jul 25, 2008 at 01:32 PM
I am with you one hundred percent new mama. I know some wonderful people that would do anything to have a baby and they cant but then you have people like this piece of crap who kills a baby because she needed her fix. What has happened to this world???
Posted by: A on Jul 25, 2008 at 01:22 PM
She may not have had a miscarriage if she wasn't doing drugs..She will have to answer to a higher power one day.
Posted by: Alright on Jul 25, 2008 at 12:02 PM
If she miscarried...than how can she be charged for murder? Women miscarry everyday. Why investigate her. She miscarried and she burried the fetus. If she'd miscarried in a hospital, they'd put it in a bio bag and threw it out. So what's the big deal??? It's not like she burried it alive or something. And if they are going to get her for being on drugs at the time she miscarried...then why not arrest all these mother's whose babies are lying in the NICU or are dead because they are having withdrawls or were overdosed on drugs? To me the woman done nothing wrong!
Posted by: New Mama on Jul 25, 2008 at 11:31 AM
But if she murdered this child, do you think it's right she gets away with it? If the drugs killed the baby than she should go to prison. She buried this child so she wouldn't get caught having drugs in her system. This is a LIFE we are talking about here. It seems everything is about money isn't it!!
Posted by: charles carroll on Jul 25, 2008 at 09:42 AM
Years ago my dad said it would be much cheaper to pay human wreckage like this girl to be sterilized .Why pursue this in the courts ,the law is to weak to convict her and if she would be convicted then we have to pay to keep her in jail .We need to streamline the process and cut our losses .
Posted by: Anonymous on Jul 25, 2008 at 09:35 AM
How far along was the pregnancy? Doctors can kill unborn babies several times a day, legally. They throw their little bodies away with the hazardous waste. I am not taking up for the mother because I don't have all the facts but I have had many miscarriages over the years while trying to have a family. I know how this works.
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