Oct 30, 2009 By Jennifer Harr 3 min read

In 2000, at age 16, Sarah Sue Hawk said she went into labor outside her sister’s mobile home in Adah. Her former brother-in-law, who believed he may be the father, said he would “take care” of the baby, Hawk testified Thursday in Fayette County Court.

Instead, she testified that Warren Bircher, 34, of Adah used her empty school backpack and plastic bags to get rid of the child that became known as “Baby Mary.”

Hawk, 25, of Uniontown entered a general plea to third-degree murder, meaning there is no set sentence attached. Judge Steve P. Leskinen indicated that he could sentence her up to 20 to 40 years in prison, which is the maximum sentence.

The baby’s body was found in a backpack in Cove Run Creek in North Union Township on June 4, 2000.

Last year, police identified Hawk as the child’s mother through DNA.

She was charged with criminal homicide, and told police that she and Bircher were having a sexual relationship, and he feared he may be the child’s father.

Hawk indicated she gave birth in 2000, sometime between May 27 and June 4, outside her sister’s mobile home. While she couldn’t remember the day, Hawk said that it was in the early morning, when it was still dark outside.

Hawk testified that her, her sister and Bircher were “having some drinks,” and that after he sister went to bed, she started having bad stomach pains.

Eventually, Hawk said she went outside to get some fresh hair, and Bircher came outside and told her she was probably in labor.

“He had me lay down on the ground, and it just seemed like it happened after that,” she said of her daughter’s birth.

“He told me the baby was breathing, and he would take care of it,” Hawk testified, crying.

Bircher went inside the mobile home, she said, and returned with her emptied school backpack and plastic bags, and took the baby away.

When Bircher came back, Hawk said he told her “he took care of it.”

Then, Hawk testified, she went to school.

She told First Assistant District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. that she believed the baby was born alive, and said that Bircher was “between my legs doing something.”

Then, Hawk said, she believed he killed the baby.

When she found out she was pregnant, Hawk said that it was possible that Bircher was the father. Ultimately, DNA testing showed that it was another man’s child.

“I didn’t know what to do or who to even talk to at the time,” she said.

When Bircher told her he would “take care of” the baby, Hawk testified she did not know what he meant.

The plea agreement was filed in February as part of Hawk’s release on bond in the case.

Included was a provision for her cooperation in Bircher’s prosecution. She has to testify about the intimate relationship she had with Bircher, and any discussions the two had about the death and concealment of the child.

Her attorney, Charles Gentile, said that she has testified at a preliminary hearing and complied with her plea agreement.

Gentile indicated that Hawk is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety problems, but said that it did not affect her ability to knowingly enter a plea.

Leskinen scheduled Hawk’s sentencing for next January. In the meantime, she remains free on $10,000 bond.