Home » Headlines » Police » Teenage Mother Arrested For Murder

Teenage Mother Arrested For Murder

MADERA COUNTY – A teenager sits behind bars facing murder charges after deputies found her newborn wrapped in a plastic bag and stuffed in a cabinet below the bathroom sink at a home on Chapin Street in Madera.

According to reports, the 17-year-old girl showed up at an area hospital last Friday, Jan. 30, where doctors discovered she was suffering from postpartum bleeding.

When asked where her baby was, the young woman denied ever giving birth. Due to a language barrier, it took hours for doctors, staff and deputies to finally learn where she lived.

Upon arriving at the address, deputies were given access to search by a resident of the home. When they found the baby under the sink, they returned to the hospital and confronted the young mother. She finally admitted that she had given birth that morning, but insisted her baby was dead when she delivered it.

Autopsy results, however, show the baby was alive when she was born, and then murdered. The cause of death is not being released at this time.

The mother has now been identified as Gloria Mendoza Santos, and she will be charged as an adult, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Santos is scheduled to appear in Madera County Superior Court on Thursday, Feb. 6.

Santos, who comes from a village in Oaxaca, Mexico, reportedly arrived in Madera just three days prior to giving birth. She is currently being held in Madera County Juvenile Hall on murder charges, with bail set at $1 million.

The investigation is ongoing.

Leave a Reply

Sierra News Online

Sierra News Online