Woman Accused Of Throwing Baby In Trash, Charged With Attempted Murder

Alicia Marie Englert, a 23-year-old Utah woman, has been charged with attempted murder after depriving her newborn of food and medical care, and then hiding the infant in her neighbor’s trash.

The Associated Press reports that the infant girl was found on August 26 and flown to a nearby hospital. At the time, the baby was suffering from hypothermia and was in respiratory distress, and listed as being in critical condition. Thankfully, the baby’s condition has since improved under medical care, and she is currently listed as being in fair condition, according to Unified Police.

Salt Lake County Attorney Sim Gill said that the baby’s improved condition is “certainly a testament to how resilient these babies can be.” He added, “It’s quite remarkable that the baby is doing well and is improving steadily.”

Gill was able to give new details about the events leading up to the baby being abandoned. Around midnight of August 24, Alicia Englert gave birth to the baby in a bathroom within her family home. She then wrapped the newborn in a towel and left the baby on floor of the bathroom in the basement. The next day, Englert went to work, leaving the baby alone and without care, and without feeding her. In fact, according to Gill, when Englert returned home from work that night, she still gave the baby no care, leaving her on the basement floor until about 6 a.m. the next morning, when Englert put the infant in her neighbor’s trash can.

The neighbor thought she heard a cat “purring” in her trash can, and so she removed several bags of trash to investigate. She then spotted the baby, and when she couldn’t get the newborn out, she ran next door for help… which happened to be the house of Alicia Englert. It was Alicia’s father, Robert Englert, who helped remove his own grandchild from the trash can.

Emergency responders immediately placed the infant on a life-flight helicopter.

According to Gill, the baby was filthy, and had a blood-borne infection. He added, “If the baby had not been discovered and not received medical condition, it certainly would have died.”

Investigators believe the rest of the Englert family was unaware of the baby being in the house. Robert Englert has claimed that his daughter has a learning disability and only recently started to understand what she has done.

However, Gill claims that, so far, there has been no evidence of Alicia Englert having a disability, and that it was not a factor in the charges. If Alicia Englert suffers from any condition, Gill says, that issue will be dealt with as the case moves through the courts.

[Image via Georgia News Day]