Mother charged after newborn found on flower bed covered with ants

A Houston-area woman has been charged with felony child abandonment after officials say her newborn daughter was found covered with ants in an apartment complex flower bed.

Harris County jail records show 21-year-old Sidney Woytasczyk of Spring was being held Tuesday on $20,000 bond.

Online records don’t list an attorney to speak for Woytasczyk, whose initial court appearance was Monday.

Another resident found the baby last Thursday. Woytasczyk was arrested after investigators followed a trail of blood to her apartment, where hours earlier she’d given birth.

Sheriff’s Deputy Kimberly Thomas says the mother says she didn’t know that she was pregnant and feared the baby would come between her and the father, who hasn’t been charged.

A judge will decide custody of the baby, who’s hospitalized with a bacterial infection.