Police found a newborn abandoned in a Fullerton, California gas station restroom trash can Thursday afternoon.
A Chevron employee found the newborn crying in the restroom, according to ABC 7. Police then took measures to save the life of the one-hour-old child, who was then transported to a local hospital in critical but stable condition. (RELATED: Seattle Woman Arrested For Allegedly Abandoning Her Baby In Trash Can 23 Years Ago)
Press Release – Newborn Found Abandoned pic.twitter.com/tHu8pMozXV
— FullertonPD PIO (@FPDPIO) March 10, 2023
Venissa Maldonado, 25, allegedly put her child inside a plastic bag placed inside the garbage can, CBS News reported. She was arrested and charged for attempted murder and felony child abuse, according to a Fullerton Police statement.
Maldonado was linked to the child when police used surveillance footage and found what they presumed was her vehicle, according to the Los Angeles Times.
It was not clear if Maldonado delivered at the gas station.
In their statement, Fullerton Police reminded Fullerton residents that the Safely Surrendered Baby Law was signed permanently into law in Jan. 2006 after it was first created in Jan. 2001, with the intent of saving the lives of newborns at risk of abandonment. The law allows parents to surrender the child within the first 72 hours of birth and requires that it be taken to a hospital, designated fire station, or another safe surrender site.
In California alone, over 1,000 babies have been safely surrendered between 2001 and 2019, according to the California Department of Social Services.
