[A_perfect_lady]

The only thing is, why leave her in the middle of the street where she'd be spotted in minutes? Most people who just want to get rid of a baby hide it somewhere, dump it where it won't be found for a few days.

This was way too dramatic to just be "getting rid of it." This was hatred at the psycho level, and I'm betting it was a message to the father of the baby, too.

[SkyPilot]

If I were to guess, I bet she "planned" this murder before the birth. That is why she had the paper bag, the WD-40, and the lighter. Here mother has a split level middle class home, so she probably took these items from the house and garage.

She is 22 years old, so it was obvious she could drive. The place where she tortured the newborn and where she lived were very close, and in the same town.

The road wasn't main street, but a back road that can be very dark. It just so happened that when she lit the baby on fire, another couple pulled up in their car and asked what she was doing.

Yes, a better "plan" (if we can call this evil that), would have been to truck herself and her newborn 1/2 mile into the nearby forest and murder the child there. Perhaps she couldn't be bothered with that?