Young Mum Who Threw Her Baby in Garbage Bin Sentenced to Life in Prison

A young mother who gave birth and threw her baby in the garbage bin has been sentenced to life in prison.

Emile Weaver, 21, a university student, from Clarington in the US, was found guilty by a jury last month of aggravated murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence after she threw her baby girl in the garbage bin.

An Ohio court heard the Ms Weaver gave birth in a bathroom at the Delta Gamma Theta sorority house at Muskingum University on April 22, 2015 then purposefully caused the death of her baby.

The court heard that the baby girl died from asphyxiation after Ms Weaver put her in a plastic garbage bag and left it outside the sorority house.

The Washington Post reported that the sorority house manager noticed the blood in the bathroom, then one of the sorority sisters decided to check the garbage, opening a hole in a bag found on the ground. “We kept shaking the bag,” Madison Bates said. “And I saw a baby’s foot,” The Zanesville Times Recorder reported.

Police were then called and they soon interviewed Ms Weaver, who later admitted the baby was born alive but told police she threw her in the bin after believing she had stopped moving.

However, Ms Weaver said at trial that she had been in denial about the pregnancy and thought the baby was already dead when she put her in the bag. She then apologised in court and said she will appeal the sentence.

Yet, Judge Mark Fleegle was not convinced that Ms Weaver was remorseful after discovering text messages from her that were sent afterwards to the man she thought was the baby’s father that said: “No more baby,” followed by “taken care of.” Judge Fleegle could have sentenced Ms Weaver to life with a chance for parole in 20 years, which was requested by her lawyer.

Prosecutors said at trial that Ms Weaver knew she was pregnant but still engaged in risky behaviours like drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana and playing in a dodge ball tournament because she never intended to keep the baby.

Ms Weaver wrote in a letter to Judge Fleegle before her sentencing that she didn’t fully understand her actions until she saw the body of the baby, who was named Addison, in a tiny casket at her funeral.

Earlier, Ms Weaver had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but the judge ruled that she was mentally competent.

Source: News.com.au