Indiana Woman Gives Birth On Carnival Cruise, Leaves Baby To Die Under Bed

Indiana woman Alicia Keir gave birth on a Caribbean cruise ship and left her baby to die under the bed. Keir, 24, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and faces up to eight years in prison for the crime. The DeMotte, Indiana, woman will face sentencing in August.

Alicia Keir told police investigators that she was pregnant when she got on the Carnival Dream cruise ship. Keir said that while she knew she was pregnant and about to give birth, the friends who went on the cruise with her to celebrate a birthday did not.

The Indiana woman was 20 at the time of the birth of her baby girl. Alicia Keir eventually told the police investigating the death of the baby that she went into labor while the Carnival Dream cruise ship was in between ports of call. Keir said she gave birth to her baby alone inside her rented cabin and then wrapped the baby in a towel. The Indiana woman said she then placed her daughter under the bed.

Keir said the baby girl born on the Carnival Dream cruise ship in 2011 did not make a sound or move after being wrapped in the blanket and placed under the bed. The Indiana woman said that despite the quietness and lack of movement, she knew her baby was born alive.

“I should have gotten help,” Alicia Keir said when in front of U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano.

Cleaning staff on the Carnival cruise ship found the baby girl dead the next day after docking in St. Marten. Keir flew home from St. Marten after her baby girl was found dead on the cruise ship.

Once the Carnival Dream cruise ship returned to its home port in Florida, an FBI Evidence Response Team was deployed to investigate the baby’s death. The autopsy report revealed that the newborn had died from a lack of care and exposure. The baby girl was reportedly born without any defects or diseases.

Federal prosecutors claimed jurisdiction in the murder case even though the baby was born at sea. The prosecutors cited Alicia Keir’s Indiana residency to bolster their jurisdictional authority. Part of Keir’s plea agreement in the manslaughter case allows both her defense attorney and the prosecutors to argue for what they feel is an appropriate sentence for the death of the baby girl.

What type of sentence would you give Alicia Keir for leaving her baby to die under a bed on a cruise ship?

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