BLACKFOOT, Idaho — A teen from Twin Falls has been arrested and charged with failure to report a death after police said she left a deceased baby girl in an Idaho Safe Haven Baby Box in Blackfoot, the only one in the state of Idaho.
Twin Falls is located about 2 hours from Blackfoot.
"The Safe Haven Baby Box is intended to safely and anonymously allow custodial parents to surrender a newborn under 30 days old without legal repercussions, provided the child is unharmed. Unfortunately, the placement of a harmed or deceased infant is not protected under this system or Idaho law," law enforcement stated.
The Blackfoot Police Department (BPD) said officers arrested 18-year-old Angel N. Newberry in Twin Falls on a felony Bingham County arrest warrant for not reporting the death. She has been transported to the Bingham County Jail.
KTVB obtained a copy of the probable cause document, which states detectives found Newberry after identifying her car through security footage.
The document states she told investigators she hid her pregnancy from her family after going into labor the night of Oct. 12. In the document, Newberry said she gave birth in the bathroom of her home, and after, she said the baby girl was alive, crying and making noises.
Newberry said in the document she tried to feed the baby several times and slept with the baby girl in her room. The document states she searched the internet for the Safe Haven Baby Box and found the one in Blackfoot.
According to the document, the last time she heard the baby making noise was the morning of Oct. 13, the same day the baby was found dead in the box. It continues and says Newberry thought she heard the baby making noise on the car drive to Blackfoot but wasn't sure.
Investigators said Newberry lied about why she drove to Blackfoot and lied when she said she had driven to a nearby parking lot and waited an hour to decide whether or not to drop off the baby.
Court documents show Newberry never alerted law enforcement between when she dropped off the baby and being contacted by investigators. The day after the baby was found dead, Investigators said they found Newberry had Google searches such as, "if a baby passes before being placed in the Safe Haven will you still get in trouble."
Police said there is the potential for more charges to come.
KTVB previously reported the dead newborn baby girl was found in an Idaho Safe Haven Baby Box at the Grove Creek Medical Center in Blackfoot on Oct. 13.
The baby box sent staff an alarm notifying them that a baby had been placed in the box, and officers said the medical team responded immediately to the alarm. The team removed the infant immediately but found the infant had passed away long before being placed in the baby box. Officials said the placenta was still attached.
Police said they will not be releasing any more information at this time.