SAN ANTONIO (KSAT) – A Texas mother is facing charges after police say she gave her baby to a stranger at a bus stop, saying she no longer wanted the little boy.
Seconds away from getting on her bus, Jennifer Benavides was at a bus stop in downtown San Antonio last Sunday night when a woman she didn’t know approached her. At first, the stranger just asked to use her phone, but Benavides says she then handed her her infant son.
“Very beautiful baby. Handsome. 1 month old,” Benavides said. “So, she’s like, ‘Well, do you want him? I’m going to give him away. I’m going to give him to somebody.’”
Karla Ibarra, 18, is charged with abandoning and endangering a child with intent to return.(Source: Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, KSAT via CNN)
San Antonio Police have since identified the woman as 18-year-old Karla Ibarra.
“She begins handing me his birth certificate, his Medicaid, his Social Security card,” Benavides said.
Benavides says when she realized Ibarra was serious about giving away her baby, she tried to get help from a friend who lives nearby. The two went to the friend’s home, where Benavides says Ibarra called an Uber and left her son behind. That’s also when police were called.
At some point later, Ibarra returned to the home, where she was arrested. She is charged with abandoning and endangering a child with intent to return.
“It’s upsetting to know that, with even all the resources that we have out there, that somebody would just do this,” Benavides said.
Though sad, Benavides says she’s also glad she was in the right place at the right time to help.
After Ibarra’s arrest, Child Protective Services confirmed her son was placed with other relatives.
Under Texas’ Baby Moses Law, a parent is allowed to anonymously and legally surrender an unharmed newborn who is 60 days old or younger without facing criminal penalties.
Parents must take the baby to a designated emergency infant care location, such as a fire station, EMS station or hospital, and physically hand the child to an employee.
Some locations also offer Safe Baby Boxes.
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