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Sunday, March 7, 2010

baby jessica


LOS ANGELES — A 24-year-old woman who is accused of dumping her newborn girl in a trash bin told police that she didn't know she was having a baby.

Jessie Canfield was arrested Wednesday, hours after trash collectors found the newborn's naked body in an overstuffed bin outside a Redondo Beach home.

Canfield had attended a surprise birthday party with family and friends at the home, before ducking into a bedroom for several hours and giving birth, police Lt. Joe Hoffman said.

"She's saying that she didn't know" she was having a baby, and she appeared "distraught over a tragic situation," Hoffman said.

After the party, Canfield left for Santa Barbara, where she stays with family.

Redondo Beach investigators found her there and took her to an emergency room for an examination and treatment before booking her for investigation of murder at Los Angeles County Jail. The name of her lawyer could not be immediately determined.

Detectives don't know if the baby was alive when she was dumped in the bin. The baby was found just blocks from a fire station where unwanted babies can be surrendered.

The Safely Surrendered Baby Law was passed in California in 2001 to allow parents to give up their babies without fear of prosecution at fire stations, hospitals and other locations. California is one of at least 46 states with such a law.

Through December 2009, a total of 331 babies had been surrendered to authorities since the law went into effect. Another 151 babies have been found abandoned during that time.

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