Teen Mother Accused Of Killing Newborn Remains In Custody

BAYTOWN, Texas (AP) – A judge ordered Friday that a teen accused of killing her newborn son will remain in custody rather than be released to her family.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office hasn’t decided whether to try to certify the 14-year-old girl as an adult for trial. If certified, she could receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole. She can’t be executed because of her age.

The eighth-grader, whose baby died in a toilet in a Baytown school, burst into tears upon hearing the judge’s ruling, the Houston Chronicle reported. She will remain in custody of Harris County juvenile authorities at least until the next hearing in 10 days.

The girl’s attorney, Gerald Yoakum, has said she was unaware of her pregnancy. But Assistant District Attorney Scott Pope said the girl told a Baytown officer that she was pregnant after having unprotected sex with a 15-year-old boy.

Pope said the girl also told emergency workers at the school that the baby was alive when born and that toilet paper had been used to obstruct the infant’s breathing passage.

The girl gave birth to the child April 2 in a bathroom at Cedar Bayou Junior School. Police charged her as a juvenile with capital murder Thursday.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)