Seminary Student Gets 5 Years For Throwing Her Newborn In The Garbage

WAXAHACHIE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A 21-year-old who delivered her daughter in a dormitory bathroom, then threw the baby away, was sentenced to 5 years.

Natalie Annell Weaver of Springfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty to a 2nd degree felony charge of manslaughter and to a state jail felony charge of abuse of a corpse.

"I want to commend the Waxahachie Police Department for their work on this emotional case. This was a horrific and inhumane crime. A precious newborn was literally thrown in the garbage by her own mother. It's both shocking and mind-boggling. And it didn't have to happen," said Ellis County & District Attorney Patrick Wilson.

The charges against Weaver stem from the birth of her baby girl in 2018.

On April 17, 2018, Waxahachie Police Department officers were called for a welfare check in a dormitory on the campus of Southwestern Assembly of God University. It was reported that Weaver, a student, possibly gave birth to a baby in the dorm, and the police needed to investigate. Upon arrival, officers observed multiple locations with both wet and dried blood. Inside a trash can, officers located a deceased female newborn in a plastic bag.

Weaver denied giving birth to the baby. But it was obvious from evidence gathered during the investigation, according to police, that Weaver delivered the baby in a dormitory bathroom. She failed to seek any medical assistance for the baby, who was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, police said.

Weaver turned herself into the Ellis County Detention Center on November 13, 2018.

Wilson issued the following statement: "Texas has a Baby Moses Law that allows and encourages mothers to take unwanted infants to designated safe havens, such as hospitals or fire stations. All Weaver had to do was take her baby to one of those locations, just minutes away. She would have avoided prosecution and, more importantly, her baby girl would probably still be alive. Please let this be a reminder to young mothers in distress that there are safe alternatives. The gift of life is too important to throw away."