Posted on 12/24/2016 12:39:10 PM PST by BBell
NEW ROADS - Just before noon, on Christmas Eve, police from New Roads arrested Kyandrea Thomas.
Thomas is accused of giving birth in a Walmart bathroom, then dumping her newborn baby in a bathroom trash can before leaving the store.
Thomas was arrested after she checked herself in to Lane Memorial Hospital, in Zachary.
Around 8:00 p.m., New Roads Police and District 5 firefighters responded to reports of an unresponsive baby left in the Walmart bathroom on Hospital Rd.
Firefighters performed CPR on the little girl in the bathroom before rushing her to Pointe Coupee General Hospital - a couple hundred yards away from Walmart - in serious condition.
By 10:15 p.m., doctors said the infant was stable but in critical condition right before paramedics flew the little girl by helicopter to Our Lady of The Lake Children's Hospital in Baton Rouge.
Detectives spent the better part of an hour interviewing witnesses and watching surveillance video before identifying a person of interest.
Their investigation brought them to Lane Memorial where they made an arrest.
"There are places all over where a person can bring a baby," New Roads Police Lt. Shael Stringer said. "They can drop them off at the hospital, they can drop them off at the police department... It's hard when people have resources in these circumstances and they choose to have the baby and leave it in the bathroom of Walmart."
Ok, maybe that is obvious to everyone but a woman who lives in a town of 4000, who is now ashamed she got pregnant, who may have not the mental, emotional resources to understand the ease of the safe haven law,who may be afraid in a small town, someone will recognize her.
Not every woman is bright enough, strong enough , emotionally stable enough in general, let alone in a crisis.
Yes, we can fault this woman, and it was wrong. I am merely saying we need to get the word out in simple commercials of what IS available...and include the churches as well.
Are you aware of what safe haven laws are? There’s NO EXCUSE for what this piece of shit did
“No safe haven laws mean that they can drop off the baby without fear of recrimination.”
Did they amend the law to limit it to infants? Because I remember reading that people were dropping off teenagers.
As a follow up to your post, in Pittsburgh there are signs advertising safe havens. We have a children’s hospital here as well as fire & police stations that will accept the baby without question. I see your point about raising public awareness but again let’s remember SHE LEFT THE BABY IN A TRASH BIN. Pretty heartless regardless of her level of ignorance
ly after noon on December 24. She is charged with attempted second degree murder. Thomas was also arrested in 2009 on a negligent homicide charge after leaving a young child in a hot car.
Probably the best part of her being arrested is that it made the news and maybe those who don't know about the safe haven law will become aware of it. Lets hope so.
And I did read your post.
I think the problem isn't lack of awareness of available resources. I think the problem is the mother's refusing to acknowledge the child qua child. It's easier to pretend if was never a child if it can be treated like trash.
The woman who gave birth to a baby girl inside a Walmart store in New Roads Friday and is accused
of leaving her in a bathroom trash can had been collecting money for the Salvation Army outside the
store, Pointe Coupee Sheriff Bud Torres said.
The woman who was arrested, Kyandrea Thomas, 34, of Baker, has the same name and age as a woman
who pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in 2011 in the death of a 3-year-old girl who was
left inside a day care center van for nearly six hours in scorching heat in 2009.
“It’s my understanding that this is the same person who pleaded guilty in the Wanda’s World case,”
19th Judicial District Attorney Hillar Moore III said, referring to the name of the day care center.
Oh Lord, I did not know that. I don't want to sound like a Nazi or Communist but maybe we do need forced sterilization. The women was responsible for the death of one child and had it not been for an alert Walmart employee it may have been two.
Maybe we need to bring back asylums.
This story is getting more depressing as the thread goes on. I don’t know but I would think the Salvation Army would be a safe haven sight.
Though I assume that prompted other states to amend, or if new to a state, close that obvious hole that they clearly had not imagined would happen.
Because Black Lives Matter? I’m sure they will be out protesting, right?
thank you for your reply..You have made some excellent points.
You are right, her arrest will highlight the safe haven law.
I would also hope that churches could be included, especially since the Black Churches are the heart of their community.
that’s a good point you make...and that attitude, its not a baby, is born out of the abortion mantra...high rates of abortion among Blacks.
I think some Churches are but they have to be registered. I would have to look it up.
Was she receiving welfare payments during her pregnancy? This is legal and widely done.
I remember that, too - that was in some Midwestern state, Iowa or Indiana. They'd been a little unclear in the wording of their law.
She dindunuffin. If she’d have aborted it 12 hours earlier, the media would have applauded her.
No one in this woman's position wants to walk into a government building full of cameras and people who might recognize her, then have to wait in line so she can try to convince some incompetent bureaucrat to take her baby. I can imagine how that would go: "I'm sorry ma'am, are you really sure you want to do this? I don't think I am authorized to accept your child here. However, if you sit down and wait, I'll ask my supervisor to talk with you, just as soon as she gets back from lunch. Please write your name on this form."
If dropping off her baby creates significant risk or inconvenience, the mother will find another solution.
There should be an 800 number for these women to call, that would connect them with someone who can arrange a quick, anonymous, low-risk drop-off. I think small churches would be very good for the drop offs, but even private homes could be used. No cameras, no questions, no wait, no embarrassing conversations, no negative consequences afterward, and the baby would be taken care of.
As for this specific case, I want to point out that the mother did not leave her baby in a dumpster in the middle of nowhere, where she was certain to die. She left her in a WalMart, teeming with Christmas shoppers, where she was almost certain to be discovered.
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