MARIGOT--The mother of the baby girl found abandoned on December 26 between Le Galion and Orient Bay was taken into custody last week Wednesday and transferred to Guadeloupe the following day, Vice-Prosecutor Michaël Ohayon confirmed on Monday.
She is to be tried by the criminal court in Basse-Terre for “attempted murder of a minor less than 15 years of age.”
Ohayon said the 24-year-old woman is a local St. Maartener. She was identified from a screen grab taken from Louis-Constant Fleming Hospital video surveillance cameras.
“Thanks to the excellent cooperation between my office and the Dutch-side police and Prosecutor, she was transferred to the French side where she admitted abandoning the baby to the Gendarmerie,” Ohayon told The Daily Herald. “The Judge of Instruction has decided that she be held in detention and not let out on bail. But in the French system she has the opportunity to appeal that decision.”
Asked what sort of sentence could be expected, he replied. “I don’t know. There are a lot of procedures to go through, investigations into the mental health of the woman, testimony of health experts, investigation of the baby; it can take a long time. At the end of it all the Judge will decide on an appropriate sentence.”
Meanwhile he said the baby is still in the care of the French-side hospital and not in foster care.
“The Judge of the Juvenile Court will make the decision when the baby has to go into foster care or put up for adoption.”
He said the baby may be scarred for life due to the condition she was found in. On the day the baby was found alive by a tourist, she was hidden in a garbage bag. Crabs had punctured their way into the bag and had been clawing away at the body. However, the fact the crabs had broken into the bag created a lifeline of oxygen and prevented the baby from dying of suffocation.
According to the reports, the pregnant woman went to Louis-Constant Fleming Hospital on December 25 with the intention of giving birth there, however, she was reportedly advised to go the Dutch-side Medical Center instead, because she was a resident of the Dutch side and had medical insurance there.
She never turned up at the Medical Center and told investigators she didn’t want her family to know about her pregnancy and gave birth to the baby in her car.
Ohayon was asked if he had any news or update in the Latoya Flanders murder case. He said no, but this case is now being handled by the Guadeloupe prosecutor. As far as he knew there have been no arrests yet.
