Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Teen Left Dead Baby in Box at Hospital: Police

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Another update on the baby that was placed in our baby box deceased. That had been deceased for hours, if not days. An 18-year-old woman faces charges after police say she left a dead baby in a baby box, meant as a safe place to surrender infants. I lay out the case against Angel Newberry and why her legal troubles could be just beginning. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Angel Newberry is an 18-year-old

Starting point is 00:00:37 woman from Idaho, and she's accused of doing something that a lot of people probably can't imagine doing. She's accused of leaving the body of her dead baby at a hospital, but police are hinting it could be much worse than that. This happened on October 13th. Police in Blackfoot, Idaho say Newberry put the body of her newborn in a safe haven baby box at the Grove Creek Medical Center. You might be wondering, what's a safe haven baby box? Well, it's a place where you can leave a baby that is alive to surrender it without getting into any trouble. It looks like this, and the boxes are installed at different locations across the country, like hospitals and fire stations. Once a baby is placed inside, there's a bell that goes off and the baby can be retrieved and cared for by medical staff. Monica Kelsey founded Safe Haven Baby Boxes to save the lives of babies whose parents can't care for them. She's going to join me shortly to talk about what happened. When the baby is alive, there certainly are not any repercussions, but police say that didn't happen in this case. Here's a TikTok video of Monica Kelsey. She's going to

Starting point is 00:01:42 show you exactly how the baby box works when a parent walks up to one of our safe haven baby boxes all they have to do is walk up to the door open the door take the orange bag place the infant inside shut the door and walk away once the hospital gets the notification that a baby has been placed inside the safe haven baby boxes, they'll come open the door, grab the bassinet and take off for the emergency room. In an affidavit, police described what they found on October 13th when they were called to the baby box at the Grove Creek Medical Center

Starting point is 00:02:23 in Blackfoot. Upon arriving in the area, officers located a deceased female infant that was discovered by the Grove Creek medical staff. The officers on scene and the medical staff that discovered the baby noticed that the baby was cold to the touch, blue and non-responsive, indicating that the baby had been dead for some time. Officers also observed lividity where blood had begun to settle after the baby had died and a still attached placenta. Police said they identified the car as belonging to Angel Newberry because it had a CarMax placard on it. When they got to her home, they said there was blood in the driveway. Police said they interviewed Newberry, who said she went into labor after buying her car.

Starting point is 00:03:05 The affidavit said, Angel said that when she was alone at the residence, she had delivered the baby in a bathroom inside of the residence and that the baby was alive when she had given birth. Angel stated that the baby had cried and made noise after birth and that she had attempted to breastfeed the baby multiple times. The affidavit continues with statements that detectives say Newberry made about what she did after the baby was born. During the interview, Angel stated that she had slept with the baby in her room and searched on the internet for the Safe Haven baby drop box and located the one in Blackfoot, Idaho. When asked about the status of the baby after she had given birth up until the time she had dropped the baby off, Angel said that she had heard the baby make noise off and on.

Starting point is 00:03:49 When asked when the last time she heard the baby make noise, she said it was in the morning of Sunday, October 13, 2024. Detectives then asked if the baby made any noises during the car ride to Blackfoot, and Angel said she thought she heard her making noises but could not be sure. Angel went on to say that she had sat the baby in the upright position wrapped in a towel with the seatbelt across the baby. Now, just a side note here, that is no way to transport a newborn baby. Newborn babies cannot sit upright on their own.

Starting point is 00:04:21 Detectives went on to write that Newberry told them things that were not true, like going to a hospital for a training in Blackfoot. They also said that Newberry searched Google for things like, has there ever been babies come to the safe haven baby boxes already passed away? And if a baby arrives at the safe haven drop box already passed away? And if a baby passes before being placed in the safe haven, will you still get into trouble? Photos on Instagram show that Angel Newberry, just in the last few years, was a teenage race car driver. Now she's in legal trouble, big trouble.

Starting point is 00:04:55 I want to bring in Monica Kelsey. She actually founded the Safe Haven Baby Box Program. Monica, take me back to that day when you first found out that a dead baby had been placed in one of your baby boxes. To be completely honest, this had never happened before. And we were devastated. This program was started to protect these infants, protect these moms. And this was the total opposite of what I started this organization for. And so we were heartbroken. It's a heartbreaking case. And I've read through the affidavit and the facts as laid out in the affidavit make it sound as if, obviously, the young woman in this case, Angel Newberry, says that she actually gave birth in her house. She was hiding this pregnancy, according to police.

Starting point is 00:05:46 She drives over two hours to get to the baby box. So it sounds like her intentions were good. But for whatever reason, the baby and it sounds like the police are still investigating. They're being very tight lipped about this, as is the prosecutor. The baby somehow passes away in between the birth and making it to your baby box. So have you been able to learn any more details about where this investigation might be going? You know, we don't. They are they are being tight-lipped about this situation. I just know that two counties are involved. But I don't know what's going to happen. And you're absolutely right. I think this mother wanted to do the right thing. I think she genuinely wanted to save the life of her child and place this child in our box so that this child's life could go on. And for whatever reason, this child didn't make

Starting point is 00:06:45 it there. And again, we're heartbroken. But to reiterate, the safe haven law is in every state in Idaho as well. And so she could have walked into a hospital or a fire station in her hometown and handed that child to a person instead of driving all the way across the state to a baby box. And she would have remained legal and safe, and we would never know her name if she would have done that. But it's a heartbreaking situation. I just don't know where they're going to take it from here. The cases I cover each day here for you on Crime Fix

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Starting point is 00:07:57 Also, a really great thing, you only pay Morgan & Morgan if you win. There are no upfront fees. So if you're ever hurt, you can easily start a claim at ForThePeople.com slash Crime Fix. I know that I've talked to you about this before on a different program a couple of years back, but you founded this program, the Safe Haven Baby Box. I mean, this is very personal to you. And I want to talk to you a little bit about why you established these baby boxes. Yeah. Back in 1973, there was no safe haven law. And my birth mom was 17 years old. She was brutally attacked and raped and left along the side of the road. And then she found out six weeks later that she was pregnant. And she was hidden for the remainder of the pregnancy. And

Starting point is 00:08:42 then she gave birth in April of 1973 and abandoned her child two hours after that child was born. And that child was me. You know, so I stand on the front lines of this movement as one of these kids that wasn't lovingly and safely and legally, you know, surrendered under the safe haven law. But I am now their voice. I am these moms voice and I am I will forever walk alongside them if they try to keep their child safe. And I wish this mother would have reached out to us. We could have protected her to let her know exactly what she needed to do, where she could go totally not what I wanted to see in 2024. Actually, I never wanted to see it ever. But it's devastating. It's absolutely devastating that I started this organization to save lives and now a life has been lost. clear in the affidavit was the fact that they identified her vehicle through surveillance camera footage. And something I thought was really important to point out was the fact that it's not that there was a security camera trained on the baby box. They don't do that. It's the fact that there were cameras elsewhere around the hospital and they were able to see that there

Starting point is 00:10:01 was a CarMax placard on the vehicle. And that's how they were able to identify the vehicle, you know, because this is all about staying anonymous, being able to drop a baby into the box. The bell goes off. The baby is then retrieved by a professional who can then care for the baby. So talk to me about that piece of this puzzle, because it's not like there are cameras trained on the baby box. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And actually, each location signs a contract with us. And part of that contract states that they will never place a camera directly on the box. Now, we can't get away from every camera in America. We understand that.

Starting point is 00:10:42 And so old police work is how they found this parent. It's not because they had one camera placed on the baby box and seen her place this baby in this box because that's not allowed. This location signed a contract stating that they would not do that and they haven't done that. And so they did look elsewhere to find this car. And from my understanding, they looked at a few different cars. So this wasn't just, you know, she stood out. This was something that the detectives worked very hard to make sure that they had the right person. But anonymity is very important to us. And that is why this program works so well, is these women, as long as they keep their child safe and the child is within the age of safe surrender, these babies' lives will go on, these mothers'

Starting point is 00:11:25 lives will go on, and this mother would have been protected. And unfortunately, we know that this was not the case for this little girl. In the affidavit, it said that Angel Newberry told the police that she gave birth to the baby. The baby was making noises, crying. She tried to breastfeed the baby. The baby, when it was found in the baby box, was wrapped in a blanket and still had the placenta attached, is my understanding. So, what does that tell you about the birth of this baby? Well, you know, this is actually a typical safe haven case. We get babies in our boxes all the time with placenta still attached or the cord is cut but not clamped or the cord is cut and clamped. And we know that these babies are not born in hospitals. And so that's why the safe haven law is so important for these moms that that basically are at the end of their rope.

Starting point is 00:12:22 They're they're in a moment of crisis. They don't know what to do. And so they bring these babies to us, wrap them in towels and place them in our baby box. And so she is kind of the typical parent that uses our safe haven baby box. And it's just unfortunate, but it was so far away and she didn't get help immediately for this little girl. So you're saying this is fairly typical that I mean, your typical case that you see is it will be a newborn wrapped in like a blanket with still the placenta and maybe even part of the cord attached. That's that's pretty typical. It's very typical. This is more common. Actually, I can tell you out of all the babies that we have helped surrender at 207 of them.

Starting point is 00:13:11 I can tell you that without question, I know that two of them were born in hospitals. And the only reason I know that is because there was tags on these babies when they were placed in our boxes. And so the majority of these babies, you can tell right away, they were not born in hospitals. And so that's why it is so important that we have this last resort option. These are the babies that were being placed in dumpsters, that were being placed in trash cans. You know, now these women are trusting us. They're saying, okay, well, I can do this. I can go to this box. It's anonymous. I can place my child in here and turn around and walk away. No questions asked. And so that's why it's so important for us to make sure that these women understand the program, understand where these boxes are, on the safe haven movement front to make sure that these, these parents are educated on the program, on the process so that they can save the life of

Starting point is 00:14:10 their child because the hospitals are not involved in the majority of our cases. Yeah. And it just reading the affidavit too. I mean, she talks about wrapping the baby in either a towel or a blanket, sitting the baby upright in the vehicle, which you can't do. Newborn babies can't sit upright. They're too small. I mean, they just, they can't support themselves. So I just can't even imagine. And it said that, I mean, the affidavit said the baby had been, they believe the baby had been deceased for some time because of the state of the body. So I just can't even imagine the people who found this poor baby, what they were feeling when they discovered it, her. Yeah. And I'll tell you, the staff at this location is devastated.

Starting point is 00:14:59 You know, I mean, they put this box in to help moms in their community. And so they get the alarm, you know, they run to the box thinking that they are having a safe haven surrender, a healthy newborn. And then they find this deceased infant and they are literally heartbroken. We have been on the phone with them, counseling them, working with them, because this is a hard situation to kind of come out of. You know, firefighters and medics, you know, they go into locations and they see this all the time. But a hospital, when a baby is brought to them deceased, it's just heartbreaking. And so it is devastating for all involved anytime there's a dead infant because infants, they're just so vulnerable. They're so, you know, it's just, it's devastating. Yeah. They can't do anything for themselves. It's horrible. Yeah. Well, you do, you provide a great service, Monica. I really appreciate you

Starting point is 00:15:59 coming on and talking with me. And we're just going to have to see where this investigation goes from here because the Google searches she performed afterwards, it seems to me that she knew she might be in trouble because she knew the baby had passed away when she had put the baby in the baby box. I appreciate your time, Monica. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having us. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.

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Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Teen Left Dead Baby in Box at Hospital: Police

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Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Teen Left Dead Baby in Box at Hospital: Police

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