HAYDEN ELAINE ADDINGTON MINTON - Newborn baby / accused: Courtney Addington, mother - Sacramento , CA

Sacramento Woman Arrested For Killing Newborn Infant
April 17, 2013 12:34 PM
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A Sacramento woman was arrested for killing her newborn baby back in January.

Courtney Addington, 24, was arrested at around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday after a search of her residence earlier this year turned up a dead infant.

Addington was admitted to Mercy General Hospital on January 25 for complications with excessive bleeding, according to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Ramos. Hospital staff determined during the examination that Addington had recently given birth, which she denied.

Deputies were notified and went to Addington’s residence in the 3800 block of Wildrose Way to check on the possible infant. There they discovered the infant dead, wrapped in a garbage bag under a bed.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Child Abuse Bureau conducted an investigation into the incident and eventually arrested Addington on a murder charge.

Addington is being held without bail at the Sacramento County Main Jail.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2013/04/17/sacramento-woman-arrested-for-killing-newborn-infant/

If she did not want it she could have given it away.  Sad that some women will do this when loving people could care for the child.  If this happened in January why did it take so long to charge her?  William

Calif. mom convicted of murdering newborn


Published 7:21 pm, Tuesday, October 1, 2013

ROSEMONT, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California woman is facing 25 years to life in prison following her conviction on charges she murdered her newborn girl.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury convicted 25-year-old Kathleen Addington on Tuesday of first-degree murder.

Authorities say she gave birth to the girl on Jan. 25 at her home in Rosemont and then stuffed her into a plastic garbage bag.

Investigators found the bag under Addington's bed.

Authorities say she tried to hide the birth because her boyfriend did not want to have children.

The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/1bpiVNe) that Addington is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 1.

http://www.timesunion.com/news/crime/article/Calif-mom-convicted-of-murdering-newborn-4860835.php

I hope this judge isn't one of those judges who doesn't think a baby's life is worth as much as an adult's life.

All this bitch had to do was give up the baby for adoption.

Woman who judge described as a 'good christian' is sentenced to life for killing newborn baby with a plastic bag after disguising pregnancy as IBS

She was described as a warm and caring young woman, with a love for children, a good Christian upbringing and plenty of friends.

But a judge has ordered a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for Courtney Kathleen Addington, the 25-year-old who hid her pregnancy from those around her, stuffed her newborn baby in a garbage and left it under her bed until it died.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Sharon A. Lueras delivered a powerful and emotional speech when handing down her sentence after a 12-person jury found Addington guilty of first-degree murder.

Addington secretly gave birth in the bedroom of her family home in Rosemont, California, earlier this year, hiding her pregnancy from those around her by telling them she had been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome.

The night before the birth she had done internet searches on signs of labor and water breakage.

Then on the morning January 25, Addington's father found her bleeding profusely.

Courtney Kathleen Addington, 25, said in her defense that she did not know she was pregnant and believed that the birth was a 'bowel movement', despite police discovering she had done internet searches on her phone about signs of labor and water breakage

Frail: Courtney Addington was motionless when her sentence was handed down in court. She was arrested about 8.45pm on January 25. She gave birth that morning in secret in her bedroom

Scene: Police searched Courtney Addington's home in Rosemont, Sacramento City, on the day of the birth following information reported by hospital staff. They found the body of her baby daughter in bag under the bed

She told him and emergency room personnel it was the result of a bowel movement.

But staff at Mercy General Hospital determined she had recently given birth.

The matter was reported to police, who searched Addington's house that night.

Under the bed they found a white garbage with the lifeless body of a newborn inside, the umbilical chord and placenta still attached.

In another bag they found some bloody towels.

She had given birth to the seven-pound, eight-ounce girl who was later given the name Hayden Elaine Addington Minton.

'I have to stand here for Baby Hayden and let her know her life mattered, and her mother must (be held accountable) for ending her life in a cruel and callous way,' Judge Lueras told the court, according to the Sacramento Bee.

'I see this beautiful young woman, who by all accounts is a caring young woman.

'You don’t look like your typical defendant, sitting there.

The thought of baby Hayden Elaine gasping for air, the judge said after pausing briefly to compose herself, is 'unconscionable and it’s haunting'.

'It was a live girl. She was 7 pounds,' Judge Lueras said.

'You put her in a plastic bag ... and you left that baby to die.'

Courtney Addington (riight), pictured here with a friend, managed to hide her pregnancy by telling family and friends her swollen stomach was irritable bowel syndrome

Good Christian upbringing: Courtney Addington maintains she did not know she was pregnant

'Heinous crime': Courtney Addington was found guilty of first-degree murder by a 12 person jury

Lueras said she wished she could put Addington on probation and recommend counseling.

But her 'horrible choice' merited something far more severe – the maximum possible prison term of 25 years to life.

The sentence came down in front of a packed, emotional courtroom audience. On one side sat Addington’s parents, friends and family, who maintained the young woman’s innocence in tearful testimonies before Lueras.

'I love her dearly, and this is so wrong,' her father, Darren Addington, said.

'It’ll be found out in the end.'

On the other of the aisle sat the baby’s father, John Minton, and his family and friends.

Several members of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department sat among them.

Minton said he was not there to ask for a harsh penalty or leniency for his former girlfriend, who he said betrayed his trust.

'I ask only that we remember what brought us to where we are, and we remember my daughter Hayden Elaine,' he said, before returning to his seat and melting into quiet sobs.

Minton posted on Facebook after the sentencing, thanking people for their supported and apologizing for his distant behavior.

'I wanted to say, that I am sorry to all of you who i have kept at arm's length over the course of this last year,' he wrote online.

'It has been a trying one, and the pain is not over for me. But the reason that i kept you all away from me these many months is linked below. I was unable to talk about it, but will answer any questions you have now. It's over. Hayden is resting in peace now.'

The father: John Minton, Courtney Addington's ex-boyfriend and the father of baby Hayden, went on Facebook after the sentencing apologizing to friends for his distant behavior, saying he was not allowed to discuss the case but can now 'answer any questions'

In representing Addington during the trial, attorney Jesse Ortiz said the woman did not know she was pregnant, lost consciousness because of heavy bleeding during the birth and bagged up the body believing it was the final remnants of her irritable bowel syndrome.

On Friday, he continued his defense by filing a motion for a new trial, arguing that deputies illegally searched Addington’s home and that disturbing photos of the dead baby emotionally impacted jurors and hurt his client’s chances for a fair trial.

When Lueras denied the motion and moved on to sentencing, Ortiz continued to stand by Addington.

'Ms. Addington is the good person that her family have described,' he said.

'I don’t think it is possible we’ll know specifically what happened on that day, but Ms. Addington didn’t do anything to harm that baby.'

Lueras was not swayed.

She lamented the difficult sentence she was about to impose, then handed it down and unceremoniously ended the hearing.

A bailiff cleared the courtroom as Addington sat there still.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2486898/Courtney-Kathleen-Addington-sentenced-life-stuffing-newborn-baby-plastic-bag.html

A good Christian does not kill their new born baby girl.  She should get the death penalty.  But at least some justice is done. William

What a ridiculous defense. The remnants of a bowl movement even though it was shown she searched for signs of labor and water breaking on the Internet. She could have searched SAFE HAVEN, but instead was a child murdering heartless bitch. I hope she rots.

How could anyone claim this monster is a "good Christian woman" is beyond me.  Thank God the judge had to follow the laws or he would have let this murderer off with probation.  Sick.

Good points Will, Tina and Twink and also a huge thank you to the judge who stood firm in her conviction to seek justice for the senseless murder of this innocent baby.  We could use more justices like this.

I keep thinking of what a tiny, helpless baby goes through to be born into this cold, noisy world, and when she needed to be hugged and cuddled she was suffocated - how horribly sad.

I'm so shocked that Courtney's parents weren't horrified and outraged by their precious granddaughter being murdered. Of course they would still love their daughter, but how could they make excuses for what she did. Sadly, young people are being taught to not have respect for life; Hayden could have legally been killed (she wasn't 'really' a person after all) a month or two earlier, so what difference does it make a few seconds after she comes out?  This is what our children are being brainwashed with and the parents and churches need to be especially diligent in getting the message out that life, at every age and stage, is a precious gift to be cherished.  And isn't it especially chilling that a woman, who has had the constant companionship of her baby for nine months, could hold that infant when they meet for the first time, and then lay her aside to die?

ladibug wrote:...And isn't it especially chilling that a woman, who has had the constant companionship of her baby for nine months, could hold that infant when they meet for the first time, and then lay her aside to die?

I can never understand this.  I can't wrap my brain around it.  Seemingly normal people can behave this way? 

I think of all the countless people who pray for a baby to adopt and we have people like this murdering them when their precious lives are only minutes old. 

I don't know the answers but surely there are some answers that would help prevent these senseless, evil murders.

tinalovesnick wrote:What a ridiculous defense. The remnants of a bowl movement even though it was shown she searched for signs of labor and water breaking on the Internet. She could have searched SAFE HAVEN, but instead was a child murdering heartless bitch. I hope she rots.

She is herself the remnants of a bowl movement, a total piece of shit.