"John Doe" - Newborn/Abandoned - Richmond VA

As Henrico County police continued to
investigate the abandonment of a newborn boy in the front yard of a
home in the eastern part of the county, they lamented the fact that it
didn't have to happen.
Like many states, Virginia has a law designed to provide alternatives to troubled parents who want to relinquish their newborns.
"There is a safe-haven law in Virginia where if this mother was
desperate, she could have dropped him off at a hospital," Henrico
police Lt. Doug Perry said.
In Virginia, a parent can take his or her child within the first 14
days of birth to either a hospital that provides 24-hour emergency
services or a rescue squad that employs emergency medical technicians.
If this is done, authorities would likely institute proceedings to
terminate parental rights. But parents, in turn, could be protected
from prosecution for abuse, neglect or endangerment.
"That's the best course of action instead of dropping it off to hopefully be found," Perry said.
While the state tracks the number of abandoned children each year,
it does not have a separate category for those left under the
safe-haven law, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Social
Services said.
Police said a woman out for an evening walk in her eastern Henrico
neighborhood saw the newborn about 8:50 p.m. Thursday on the front lawn
of a home in the 4400 block of Samara Drive.
"Thankfully he was found, but he could have died," Perry said. "There were no clothes on the baby."
Perry said the boy was taken to VCU Medical Center, where he was in
good condition. The boy, of African-American descent with light skin,
appeared to be less than a day old, Perry said.
Police canvassed the neighborhood after the discovery.
"He's definitely not from any of the houses around there," Perry
said yesterday. "We went to every house last night talking to people.
All indications are that he was dropped off there."
The focus of the investigation shifted yesterday to contacting area hospitals and police departments.
Police asked anyone with information to call Henrico police at (804) 501-5000 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (804) 780-1000.