Charges filed against woman who placed newborn in gas station trash can
A woman who gave birth to her child and then allegedly placed the baby in the trash can at a North Belle Vernon gas station in 2016 has been charged with child endangerment.
On Monday, North Belle Vernon Police charged Brittany Nicole Conway, 25, of 312 Emmerson St., Vandergrift, with endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person before Magisterial District Judge Charles Christner.
The charges stem from an incident on Sept. 24, 2016, when police were called to the 7-Eleven along Fayette Street for a woman possibly having a miscarriage in the restroom.
Because the responding officer was male and the situation involved a woman undressed from the waist down, the officer did not enter the restroom, instead sending in medical personnel.
The officer heard commotion in the restroom, followed by Conway’s mother screaming, according to court paperwork.
Police said they observed an EMT running from the restroom and returning with an a medical kit for emergency deliveries. One of the emergency responders told police that Conway had given birth to a live child, according to the charges filed against her.
The criminal complaint states the inside of the restroom had blood on the walls, the sink, the floor and in both stalls.
Mon Valley EMS paramedic Terry Foster told police that when they entered the restroom, he heard what he thought was the sound of a baby’s whimpering coming from the trash can.
Police said Foster told them he sorted through the trash can and discovered a tan plastic bag at the bottom. When he opened the bag, he discovered a full-term baby girl with the umbilical cord and placenta attached.
Westmoreland County District Attorney John Peck said shortly after the incident that the baby didn’t appear to have any injuries or appear to be in distress.
Conway allegedly told Foster in the ambulance ride to Jefferson Hospital that she had given birth to the baby in the commode and admitted that she retrieved the plastic bag from the trash and used it to take the child out of the toilet, and placed the baby in a trash can.
“The defendant did not seek nor provide the newborn child with any medical assistance prior to wrapping the child in the plastic bag and placing it in the trash can,” wrote North Belle Vernon police Chief Eugene Lipari in the affidavit of probable cause.
Conway has not been arraigned on the charges.