Nadia Zahirudin & Ben LaMarche Charged In Baby Abandonment

[Whisper]

APPLETON - Two Fox Valley teens are facing prison time for allegedly abandoning their newborn baby behind a church.
Charged with felony child abandonment, 17-year-old Nadia Zahirudin and 18-year-old Benjamin LaMarche face a maximum 10 years in prison. The pair is also charged with misdemeanor child neglect, which carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail.

According to court documents, the teens admitted to leaving their newborn baby girl behind Fox Valley Christian Fellowship. LaMarche left the baby next to a dumpster about an hour after Zahirudin gave birth to it in her bathtub.
Police say Zahirudin told them she tried hiding her pregnancy. The teen told authorities she was scared and wanted to get rid of the infant before her uncle, who she lives with, came home.

Under Wisconsin's Safe Haven Law, it would have been legal if the couple brought the baby to a hospital, police or fire station within 72 hours of birth.
Court documents say the couple's original plan was to bring it to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton. Police say LaMarche told them he backed out because he was afraid he would get in trouble for having sex with a minor.

Outagamie County's Assistant District Attorney, Melinda Tempelis, says while the abandoning case is unique, she treated it like any other case.

“Certainly in our county we haven't had a child abandonment recently,â€￾ said Tempelis. “That doesn't mean we don't look at these cases the same we'd look at any other criminal offense.â€￾
Tempelis says DNA samples have not returned to confirm LaMarche and Zahirudin are the baby's parents. She says it had no bearing on the timing of the charges.

“I had asked Fox Valley Metro Police to do some follow up for me,â€￾ said Tempelis. “I just needed to close up some loops and get some things figured out.â€￾

LaMarche and Zahirudin are not in police custody. They are scheduled to appear in court in two weeks.
In Wisconsin, 17-year-olds are considered adults in the criminal justice system.
[...]

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/crime/teen-parents-charged-in-baby-abandonment-

 

[Robynne]

So, Since they are not getting charged with manslaughter or murder, did someone find the baby then? Is the baby okay?

 

[Tundratot]

Stupid, bad, headstrong kids. She's living with her uncle. That just speaks to me of having burned her bridges with her parental unit(s). So, she's doggedly going her own way, having sex with a guy who is old enough to be charged for having sex with a minor, and NOT using birth control. (Probably didn't want to be accused of premeditated sex. Better to get pregnant than plan to have sex, right?) But, now she's pregnant and has to hide it from her meal ticket, last resort, uncle. And Bozo the father can't bring himself to go to a hospital or fire station because he might get caught for statutory rape. Real winner there.

Okay, the rule is supposed to be "no questions asked". So, take the baby to the hospital and don't answer any questions! Or FFS learn to PLAN for your sex. Have some condoms handy, use BCPs, have the implant . . . something! Is it really preferable to just let fate take you and end up in the papers, jail, maybe even facing the boys and girls in prison?

You want to play like adults, you need to think like adults. That means having some f***ing foresight!

 

[AngelFire]

She went so far as to hide the pregnancy, and labor. Anyone that has given birth knows how traumatic it can be and at 17, even more so. That's why after all that trouble, to go and dump baby like trash just doesn't make sense. Especially when you can relinquish custody of your child safely, and legally in a designated Safe Haven place.

Then again, she is young and most likely didn't have prenatal care, so she might not had knowledge of the Safe Haven Law. I will give her that much......But I am sure she KNEW fully well that the possibility of baby dying of exposure, and hunger was a great. So regardless if she knew or not of the law she knew baby could have died, and that is enough for me to have both their asses in prison

 

[Whisper]

So, Since they are not getting charged with manslaughter or murder, did someone find the baby then? Is the baby okay?

[MENTION=4295]Robynne Bales[/MENTION]

Outagamie County authorities are trying to place the baby with family or in foster care. They say she is in good health

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/crime/teen-parents-charged-in-baby-abandonment-

 

[AngelFire]

I would like to know what both their family lifes are like. She lives with an uncle, so I am sure no bio parent around, or maybe she is a little shit and ended up at Unc's. But the bio-dad of this baby, I wonder about his family. What hey have to say about all this...

 

[Whisper]

I was 17 and lived on my own when I had Heav
I didnt want anyone with me in labor or del room except hubby and I had section anyways so I didnt have the trauma of natural birth(just 49 hours of useless labor)
But for them to have a baby at home(or where ever) Im shocked how these young first timers(or we think first timers)
and I am soooo leary of home births right now b/c of a buncha midwives in Detr being sued
They had women on lastnights news I cried,they were devoted to the midwife doula they had and listened to her for everything and she had them go a month over due and no labor so sent to hosp and baby was dead
Anything can happen and I see no weakness in going ro hosp and having babies
I understand some swear by home births and thats great but I was told if I had lived in 1800s or what ever we both wouldve been dead
we both almost died as it was and its scary
anyways back on main topic,
I wonder how many of these people get away with it b/c we read about the ones caught

 

[Dakota]

Plea deals are in the works for two Fox Valley teens accused of abandoning their newborn baby outside a locked church Dumpster in Kimberly. 17-year-old Nadia Zahirudin of Appleton waived her right to a preliminary hearing yesterday in Outagamie County Circuit Court. Her lawyer said he’s talking with prosecutors about a possible deferred prosecution agreement on a felony child abandonment charge.

Zahirudin could get a chance to wipe out a conviction if she meets a series of conditions over a certain amount of time.
[...]

LaMarche has pleaded innocent to his two charges. He’s scheduled to go on trial September 14th, but there’s also talk of a plea deal in his case as well.

A prosecutor said no formal offers have been made to defense attorneys. Zahirudin is scheduled to enter pleas on August 17th if a plea agreement is not reached by then. Prosecutors said she thought about dropping off the baby at a hospital in Appleton, but she feared she would get in trouble. But had she done that, she would have actually avoided prosecution under Wisconsin’s Safe Haven law.

http://wsau.com/news/articles/2011/jul/27/plea-deals-likely-in-abandoned-baby-case/

 

[Dakota]

Appleton teen Nadia Zahirudin was alone and enveloped in fear when she gave birth to her daughter at 3:40 p.m. May 9 in Buchanan, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Though Deputy Dist. Atty. Melinda Tempelis was sympathetic to the girl's plight, she was tersely described the dire risks Zahirudin's baby faced that chilly May evening after she was left alone outside a Kimberly church less than an hour after her birth.

"That could have been horrific," she said. "Thankfully it wasn't."

Zahirudin, 17, of Appleton, was sentenced in Outagamie County Court to three years of probation on misdemeanor convictions of disorderly conduct, obstructing police and child neglect for her role in the abandonment of her newborn. She entered guilty pleas to the each of the charges as part of a plea agreement.

Judge Michael Gage withheld sentencing on a felony child abandonment charge and approved a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, which means prosecutors will dismiss the charge if Zahirudin follows through on the terms of the agreement.

Meanwhile, the baby's father, 18-year-old Benjamin LaMarche, will return to court March 13 for a plea hearing. LaMarche, of Kimberly had been scheduled to go to trial Tuesday on counts of child abandonment and child neglect charges, but the trial was taken off of the court calendar late Monday.
[...]

Police turned their sights on Zahirudin after investigating several tips. She eventually opened up to officers about how she concealed her pregnancy and gave birth at home. She worried how her aunt and uncle, with whom she lived, would've reacted.

When LaMarche arrived 10 minutes after Zahirudin gave birth, she told him to take the baby to a hospital. He drove to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, but became scared that he'd be prosecuted for statutory rape if he turned the baby over to medical staff.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article...s-probation-after-her-newborn-found-abandoned

 

[Abroad]

When LaMarche arrived 10 minutes after Zahirudin gave birth, she told him to take the baby to a hospital. He drove to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, but became scared that he'd be prosecuted for statutory rape if he turned the baby over to medical staff. (emphasis added)

Because getting caught abandoning a newborn child to the elements is so much better /endsarcasm.

No don't say it: Einstein was not expecting to get caught. :rant: