A teenage mother faces murder charges after authorities discovered her newborn daughter deceased with extensive neck injuries at the family’s residence, a case that has deeply affected first responders and raised questions about how a young teen concealed a pregnancy and gave birth without family awareness.
According to the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana, a 14-year-old girl has been charged with first-degree murder after investigators found her newborn daughter dead with significant injuries to the neck area.
The sheriff’s office reported that deputies were alerted by medical staff at Our Lady of the Lake hospital in Walker after the teenage girl sought medical treatment and disclosed to healthcare providers she had given birth at home without medical assistance or supervision.
Sheriff Jason Ard stated that responding deputies discovered the infant’s body inside a storage tote at the teen’s residence in Denham Springs, Louisiana. Initially charged with failure to seek assistance and obstruction of justice for not reporting the birth and allegedly impeding the investigation, the teen now faces the far more serious murder charge following an autopsy that confirmed the death as a homicide rather than natural causes or complications from unassisted childbirth.
Sheriff Ard indicated that medical personnel believe the infant was carried to full term rather than being premature, was born alive rather than stillborn, and was killed immediately after birth. Investigators believe the teenage mother concealed her pregnancy from family members throughout its duration, giving birth without anyone in the household apparently aware she had been pregnant.
The teen is currently held at the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center whilst the investigation continues and prosecutors prepare the case for juvenile court proceedings.
“Medical Personnel believe the infant was carried to full term, born alive and killed immediately after birth. It is believed the teen did conceal her pregnancy from family. The teen is now in Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center facing an additional charge of First Degree Murder. As you can imagine, this has been a difficult case for all First Responders involved. Please keep them, and the family, in your thoughts as this very sensitive investigation continues. Due to the nature of this case, no further details can be released at this time,” Sheriff Ard stated in a public statement.
The case raises troubling questions about how a 14-year-old girl became pregnant, how she concealed the pregnancy for approximately nine months without family members noticing physical changes or seeking medical care, and what circumstances led to the infant’s death immediately after birth. Louisiana, like most states, has safe haven laws allowing parents to surrender newborns at designated locations including hospitals and fire stations without facing criminal charges, options that could have saved the infant’s life had the teenage mother been aware of them or chosen to use them.
The first-degree murder charge against a 14-year-old represents an extraordinarily serious prosecution that will proceed through juvenile court given the defendant’s age, though prosecutors could potentially seek to have the case transferred to adult court depending on Louisiana law and the specific circumstances. First-degree murder typically requires proof of premeditation or intent to kill, a high legal standard that prosecutors will need to establish through evidence including the autopsy findings documenting the manner of death and any statements the teen made to investigators.
