SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – A newborn baby was found alive in a trash can near the Quality Inn on the 7100 block of Abercorn Street early Saturday morning, according to Savannah police.
Three people are now facing charges.
What happened
Chatham EMS Director Chuck Kearns said crews initially responded to a call for a patient experiencing hemorrhaging. At the hospital, the EMS crew realized the patient had given birth. They alerted police, who searched the hotel and found the baby alive.
SPD responded at approximately 2:45 a.m. Oct. 10 to a report of child abandonment in the 7100 block of Abercorn Street.
After an initial investigation, Sgt. Howard Crosby and Ofc. Richard Taylor with the Southside Precinct discovered the infant in a nearby trashcan.
The child was given immediate medical attention. The baby is now in the care of the Department of Human Services’ Division of Family and Children Services, known as DFCS.
SPD thanked Memorial Health medical staff, Chatham EMS and Savannah Fire for their assistance in locating the child quickly and safely.
Charges filed
Dominique Welcome, 29, Chiquita Roche, 39, and Jamal West, 44, were arrested and face charges in connection with the case.
Dominique Welcome(Chatham County Sheriff’s Office)
Welcome is charged with cruelty to children. Roche is charged with party to a crime and willful obstruction of law enforcement officers by use of threats or violence. West is charged with cruelty to children.
Chiquita Roche(Chatham County Sheriff’s Office)
Chatham County jail records show Roche was arrested on scene at the hotel, West was arrested on scene at the hotel and Welcome was arrested at Memorial Hospital.
Jamal West(Chatham County Sheriff’s Office)Safe haven law
SPD reminded the public that under Georgia’s Safe Place for Newborns Act, state law gives criminal immunity to a mother who leaves her baby, if the baby is no more than 30 days old, with a staff member or volunteer at an authorized medical facility, fire station or police station.
Examples include the Memorial Health Dwaine & Cynthia Willett Children’s Hospital of Savannah and the Savannah Fire Department. Designated “Safe Place” facilities are marked with signage.
Michael Bossak, vice president of Children’s Hospital of Savannah, said the hospital serves as a safe space for children of all ages, including newborns.
“I think as a pediatrician and as a vice president of the Children’s Hospital, I think it’s important. We are the safe space for children of all ages that includes the youngest ones, so being able to place where mothers can come guilt free to be able to drop off a child and say look, I’m not able to do this, but I want this baby to survive and have the best life possible is an important part of what we do here at Children’s Hospital,” Bossak said.
More information is available here.
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