John Jefferson
Inset: Angel N. Newberry (Blackfoot Police Department). Background: Grove Creek Medical Center (Google Maps).
An 18-year-old woman in Idaho has been arrested after she allegedly left a dead newborn baby inside a Safe Haven Baby Box at a local hospital last month. Angela N. Newberry was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of felony failure to report a death to law enforcement, authorities announced.
According to news releases from the Blackfoot Police Department and Safe Haven Baby Boxes, the “tragic incident” took place on Oct. 13, 2024, at the Grove Creek Medical Center in Blackfoot, Idaho, which is about 250 miles east of Boise. The facility has a baby box on site which triggers an alarm when a child is placed inside.
On that date, staff at the medical center “responded immediately” to a baby box alarm going off. However, when they got there, staffers made a grisly discovery.
“The medical team removed the infant from the bassinet within a minute,” the Safe Haven release states. “Upon removal, they quickly realized that the infant had passed away long before being placed in the baby box. The Safe Haven Law in Idaho allows for the surrender of an infant who is unharmed and healthy. Therefore, this was not a legal surrender under state law as it does not meet the criteria for Safe Haven surrender.”
Police clarified that custodial parents may surrender a newborn at one of the boxes within 30 days of the child’s birth with no legal repercussions.
Officers with the Blackfoot Police Department responded to the scene and opened a death investigation, but the case was later taken over by the Twin Falls Police Department. After more than a month of investigation, authorities said they were able to identify Newberry as the individual who left the deceased baby.
“After diligent work by the Blackfoot – Bingham Joint Detective Division over the last two months, 18-year-old Angel N. Newberry of Twin Falls was arrested in Twin Falls on a felony Bingham County arrest warrant for failing to report a death to law enforcement officials and the coroner,” police said. “Angel has been transported and booked into the Bingham County Jail on the above warrant.”
Authorities emphasized that due to “the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation” as well as “the potential for further criminal charges” against Newberry, only limited information will be provided to the public.
According to a report from Nampa, Idaho ABC affiliate KIVI, the Safe Haven Baby Box at Grove Creek was put in place in July and marked the first location in the state where newborns could be left safely and anonymously.
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