Abandoned Newborn Girl - (2010) - Stafford (SW of Houston) TX

Stafford TX ---- A newborn girl has been found abandoned at an apartment complex in
Stafford.
The Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office early Wednesday responded
to a call about a baby left at a front door of the Preserve at Colony
Lakes Apartments.
The sheriff's department, in a statement, says the girl was
transported to Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital for medical
evaluation and treatment. No additional details were immediately
released.

Imagine stepping out of your home and finding a newborn on your
doorstep. That's exactly what happened to a Fort Bend County family. The
infant, a little girl, was found just before four this morning.


The baby was left and the Preserve at Colony Lakes Apartments in the
1000 block of Farrah Lane near Avenue E. in Stafford.

Apartment 311, is where the new born girl was left for someone to find.
She was wrapped in a towel and her umbilical cord was still attached.

"I heard someone knock on the door," said Alishan Prasala, who lives at
the apartment.

Bilques Prasala was hesitant about opening the door at four in the
morning but something told her to peak outside.

"There's a new born baby just sitting there on the door step," said
Prasala. "I was like; a new born baby?"

Fifteen year old Alishan Prasala couldn't believe it.

"How could someone do that to their own child," said Prasala.

The Prasala family took the baby inside and called police.

"The baby is very fortunate, it was already suffering from hypothermia
when the people opened the door," said Chief Deputy C. Brady.

Investigators said the baby was only hours old.

"The umbilical cord was dangling," said Prasala.

"The cut (of the umbilical cord) was very jagged not professional
looking," said Chief Brady. "(The person who delivered the baby)
probably (used) a pair of scissors or kitchen knife (to cut it)."

Fort Bend County investigators believe the mother is a young woman who
may have hid her pregnancy and delivered nearby the apartment complex.

"If no one was home the baby would of really well died of hypothermia,"
said Chief Brady.

The family believes its divine intervention, they were getting ready to
go to church so they had their living room light on. They thinks that's
the reason why the mother decided to leave the baby on their door step.

"It's like at the same time we go early in the morning to church the
baby was right there," said the teen.

Prasala feels God did place the baby outside her door just in time to
find her.

"I hope the kid has a long life and no one else does this to any other
kids," said Prasala.

The baby is at Memorial Herman Southwest Hospital and doing better.
Under the Baby Moses Law, people can leave unharmed babies at fire
stations without facing any charges.

Since this baby's mother abandoned her baby at an apartment complex she
could face possible child endangerment charges. At this time,
investigators just want to find the mother to make sure her baby gets
the proper care it needs.

At 4 in the morning, there aren't many lights shining through windows at the Preserve at
Colony Lakes apartments in Stafford.

But that's what time the Persala family routinely awakens to make it to an early-morning
church service, flicking on the lights that Fort Bend County
authorities suspect caught the attention of whoever knocked on their
door in Wednesday's pre-dawn darkness. There on the doorstep, when
15-year-old Alishan Persala and his mother answered the knock, was an
hours-old baby girl with a hastily severed umbilical cord.

The baby, whose identity is unknown, was lying on a white bath towel and
suffering from hypothermia, authorities said.

She was taken to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital and should be fine,
sheriff's deputies said.
The baby likely will be placed in foster care when released
from the hospital, said Gwen Carter, spokeswoman for Child Protective
Services. CPS and sheriff's investigators will search for family
members. The baby eventually could be put up for adoption.

More than chance



Investigators released photos of the baby girl in the hopes of identifying her mother
and whoever left the infant on the doorstep.

Alishan was in disbelief over the situation but thought maybe more than chance led them to the baby.

"It's like destiny or something," Alishan said. "It's the time we go to
church every morning, and the baby was there."

A jagged umbilical cord that indicated it might have been cut by a
kitchen knife or scissors has officials with the sheriff's office
suspecting the baby wasn't born in a hospital.

Possible charges

Whoever left the infant faces possible child endangerment charges, which
could have been avoided
through Texas' Baby Moses law. That law permits anyone to leave an
unharmed baby within 60 days of birth at a fire station or hospital
without the threat of prosecution.

Bilques Persala, Alishan's mother, said she's glad they found the
newborn. "When a child cries, the parent feels the pain,"
she said. "I guess these people don't understand that. I'm happy though.
Something good happened today. I saved a child's life."

Fort Bend County detectives have found the mother of a newborn
abandoned in an apartment complex in Stafford two weeks ago.
The baby was left near the front door of an apartment complex on
June 30.
Authorities said Tuesday they have located the baby's mother,
22-year-old Marjorie Johnson.
She lived at the apartment complex, but investigators say she
concealed her pregnancy because her family does not like the baby's
father.

Deputies have identified the mother of a newborn baby left on the
doorstep of an apartment complex home. Investigators say
22-year-old Marjorie Johnson left her 2-hour old baby at an apartment
complex home in the 1000 block of Farrah Lane. The Prasala family alerted authorities when they saw the naked
child, still covered with the blood and fluid typically associated with
the labor process on June 30. The father of the child alerted
deputies when he saw photos of the infant on local media, investigators
say. Johnson concealed the pregnancy from her own family because
they do not approve of the father. She already has two biological
sons from the same father. The newborn was last reported to be
at CPS, awaiting a foster or adoptive family to take in the baby. It
is illegal to leave a baby on a doorstep. The 'Baby Moses' Law allows
newborns less than 60 days old to be left at a variety of locations
including a fire station, police department, or hospital.

Police find mom of baby left on Fort Bend doorstep
Mother of abandoned infant in Fort Bend county found

LINDSAY WISE, Copyright 2010 HOUSTON CHRONICLE | Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Detectives have located the parents of a baby girl who was left on a doorstep of an apartment in Stafford last month.

The baby's father, who thought the child might be his after seeing photos of her on local news channels, contacted the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office. Authorities did not release the father's name, but identified the mother as 22-year-old Marjorie Johnson....

...Abandoning a baby is classified as felony endangerment, but no charges have been filed. Authorities said Johnson is cooperating with law enforcement.

The case will be forwarded to the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office.

lindsay.wise@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Police-find-mom-of-baby-left-on-Fort-Bend-doorstep-1697410.php