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Lakeland girl, 14, accused of killing her newborn son

 
Published Sept. 29, 2012

A 14-year-old Lakeland girl was arrested Thursday, accused of killing her newborn baby and hiding the body in her bedroom, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

The girl's mother was picking up dirty laundry in their Lakeland home on Saturday when she smelled an odor coming from her daughter's room. She found a baby boy's corpse stuffed inside a shoebox, deputies said.

The mother called 911. Detectives interviewed the girl, who has not been identified. The teen told them that she went into labor on Sept. 19 and delivered the baby in her family's bathroom.

Detectives said the girl also told them she then squeezed her son's neck until he stopped breathing.

She cleaned the bathroom and hid the baby in the box, according to the Sheriff's Office. The girl was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center on Sept. 19 for treatment for a miscarriage, the Sheriff's Office said. It wasn't clear whether her parents knew she was being treated at the time.

An autopsy found that the baby was full-term and alive after being born. The cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma, the medical examiner's office said.

The girl faces first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse charges. She was taken to the Polk County Juvenile Detention Facility.

The investigation was continuing on Friday.