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Claflin University Student Secretly Gives Birth In Dorm Bathroom, Allegedly Stuffs Newborn Baby Boy In Trash Bag Before Throwing Him In Dumpster

By Angelica N. Sumter
Published on: 21:07 PST, Nov 10, 2016

A 19-year-old Claflin University student, Amber Brianna Fulton, of Kingstree, South Carolina, is being charged with attempted murder after she secretly gave birth in the dormitory bathroom and allegedly stuffed the newborn in a trash bag before throwing the baby boy in a dumpster, according to the ABC 13 Eyewitness News.

Custodians at the university were making their usual campus rounds at about 8:55 a.m. Wednesday, November 9, collecting trash when they made a shocking discovery. George Johnson, who is the Assistant Vice President for Communications and Marketing at Claflin, stated that when the workers were throwing the campus trash into a dumpster on Goff Street, they found a newborn baby after hearing his cries.

Orangeburg police were immediately notified after the newborn baby boy was found in a dumpster.

Paramedics transported the baby boy to the Regional Medical Center, where it was learned that the “healthy five pound, seven ounce baby” was born just three to four hours before being found in a dumpster.

After an investigation, it was uncovered that Fulton – who reportedly hid her pregnancy from family and friends – secretly gave birth in the dormitory bathroom, where she cut the umbilical cord with scissors and cleaned the baby with tissues before allegedly placing “him in a plastic bag and put that bag in another large trash bag, which she tied with a loose knot.”

Afterward, Fulton reportedly threw her newborn baby in a “dumpster at the student residential center, behind the Claflin dining facility.”

An arrest report indicates that the Claflin University student gave birth to the baby boy between 4 a.m. and 8:25 a.m.

After Fulton signed a statement, admitting to secretly giving birth to the baby boy and throwing him in a dumpster, she was arrested and charged with “unlawful conduct towards a child and attempted murder.”

However, before she was taken to the county jail, police officials say the Claflin University student was transported to a “medical center for evaluation.”

Capt. Alfred Alexander with Orangeburg DPS stated that “it is something that we don’t like seeing. We’re fortunate in this incident because the baby could have been deceased. We’re very fortunate the baby is alive and doing well.”

“We’re going through a gauntlet of emotions, but we’re trying to stay focused.”

Claflin spokesman George Johnson added that “we’re working with the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety. It’s an ongoing case, but this isn’t news you’re used to finding every day, finding out that a newborn baby has been found in a dumpster.”

The WFMY News 2 reported that they wanted to remind people about Daniels Law, which was “created to be a safe haven for newborns” – it was named after a newborn baby boy when he was abandoned and found alive, buried in a landfill.

A person will not face any criminal charges if they opt to abandon their baby by leaving it with staff at a safe haven, which includes a “hospital or hospital outpatient facility, law enforcement agencies, fire stations, emergency medical services (EMS) stations, or a house of worship during the time the church or synagogue is staff.”

“I think if we start educating, I think the earlier the better,” said Dawn Barton, who is with DSS said. “I don’t know what the teen pregnancy rate is, but I can imagine very young girls are probably the ones that just don’t know quite what to do and find themselves in that situation.”

The Department of Social Services is expected to get involved in the case after the newborn baby, who is reportedly doing well, was found in a dumpster.

Fulton remains at the county jail and has made her first court appearance Thursday morning.

An investigation is ongoing.

[Featured Image By Denis Tangney Jr/iStock]

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