SPRINGETTSBURY TOWNSHIP, Pa.–A 21-year-old woman is accused of concealing the death of her newborn by hiding the infant inside of a shoe box in York County in April 2015, according court documents.
Kelsey N. Martin, who was 20 years of age at the time of the incident, was charged on Jan. 28 with concealing the death of a child.
The infant was discovered concealed inside a shoe box in the closet of a home along the 800 block of E. Eleventh Avenue in Springettsbury Township on April 11, according to the criminal complaint.
A few hours before the baby was found– an ambulance was called to the home shortly after 10 p.m. on April 10 for a report of a woman with a hemorrhage. EMT’s found Martin in a bathtub full of blood, court documents state. Martin was asked if she was or had been pregnant–to which she replied “No,” according to the criminal complaint.
Martin explained to the EMT that she had been at the hospital earlier that day and was told she had a urinary tract infection, according to court records.
She was taken to York Hospital where nurses discovered she had in fact given birth, but there was no baby.
Hospital staff contacted police who responded to the home and met with Martin’s relative. The relative told police, “Let’s go, she said it’s in a box upstairs,” according to court documents. Officers accompanied the relative to check inside Martin’s bedroom closet where they found two shoe boxes. Inside one of the shoe boxes was the infant, who did not appear to be breathing and was pronounced dead, court documents state. The other box contained blood soaked clothing.
During an interview with police Martin claimed she had no idea she was pregnant, citing she never felt any kicks or experienced morning sickness, according to the criminal complaint. Martin said she delivered at home, but when the baby came out it wasn’t breathing. She told police she picked the baby up and gently shook it in an effort to get the baby to breath.
Martin said when the baby didn’t make any noises, she panicked and placed the newborn in a shoe box, court documents state. When her grandparents came home a short time later and saw the blood, Martin told police she lied to them and said she hit her nose on the dresser in an effort to explain the blood on the floor.
While her grandmother was tending to her, Martin began bleeding from delivering the baby. Martin told police her grandmother told her to sit in the bathtub and call 911.
An autopsy was unable to determine if the infant was stillborn or born alive.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 31.