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Couple Allegedly Lied Their Dead Infant Daughter Had Been Cremated, Hid Her Body In Cat Litter

By Tito Ojo-Medubi
Published on: 21:32 PST, Mar 20, 2018

A couple allegedly hid the body of their six-month-old daughter in cat litter. Fox 43 is reporting that Shaun Oxenreider, 25, and Samantha Trump, 27, have been charged with concealing the whereabouts of a child, criminal conspiracy and, the abuse of a corpse.

According to investigations, the body of their infant daughter was concealed in a plastic container filled with kitty litter, and placed in a crawlspace area, inside their Berks County residence.

The build-up to the grisly discovery started when relatives of the 25-year-old man contacted authorities to voice their suspicions about the death of his infant daughter. Oxenreider had informed relatives of the baby’s death and that she had been cremated.

However, a source speaking to Lehigh Valley Live revealed that investigators did not find the baby’s name in any hospital or funeral home. Additionally, when the couple was contacted by officials to produce a death certificate, they claimed that they were in New Jersey, visiting relatives. According to the source, the pair said they would return after the Easter celebrations.

But on Monday night, a relative driving past the couple’s home saw lights in the apartment and Oxenreider’s car parked outside, and immediately contacted police who came to the residence.

The couple initially did not allow police officers inside, preferring to speak to the officers through the door. However, they succumbed when more officers arrived with child protective officials. According to a submitted criminal report, Samantha Trump started having convulsions during questioning by officers and was rushed to a hospital.

Police officers continued to question her partner, Shaun Oxenreider and asked for permission to search the residence. The officers made it clear that they were looking for places that a child could be hidden. Surprisingly, Oxenreider agreed to the search.

The New York Post reports that the police eventually searched a bathroom that Shaun opened with a key. There, they discovered baby clothing, used diapers, and pictures of the baby girl. Inside the bathroom was also a large plastic container, firmly shut.

When police officers opened the container, they found it filled with cat litter. But, they noticed a trash bag jutting out of the litter and when they removed and opened it, they found a dead child’s body inside.

Oxenreider was arrested without any hassles while Trump remains a hospital patient. She is currently being watched by the Berks County Sheriff’s Office.

The baby girl who has been identified as Harper Trump was last seen alive in January.

Berks County District Attorney, John Adams speaking to Q13 Fox, said even though details about the tragic incident, remained sketchy at the moment, ongoing investigations would soon reveal what caused the death of Baby Harper.

“We intend to get to the bottom of this situation and we are hopeful we can find out what caused this child’s death. The investigation is ongoing, but I am certain this is not the last you will hear of this unfortunate incident.”

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