Autopsy Finished On Fetus Found In Freezer; Mother ChargedPOSTED: 3:40 pm EDT May 17,
2007 PITTSBURGH -- A young woman was arraigned overnight in connection with the body of a fetus found in a freezer on Thursday, Pittsburgh police said.Christine Hutchinson, 22, of the city's Bloomfield section, is charged with one count of abuse of a corpse. Authorities said she apparently had a miscarriage of a 19- to 20-week-old fetus that likely died in the uterus.According to a police affidavit, Hutchinson told detectives she gave birth to a girl on April 22. She told police that after the delivery, she wrapped the baby in plastic and placed her in a paper bag, then put the bag in the freezer.Police received a phone call Thursday from a woman in Texas who told them if they went to an apartment on Liberty Avenue, they would find a dead baby in the freezer.Police said they acted on the tip and found the fetus wrapped in plastic, placed in a brown paper bag, inside a cardboard beer box in the freezer.According to the medical examiner's office, it appears to be a miscarriage of a 19- to 20-week-old fetus."The examination of the baby is very similar to spontaneous abortions that are seen routinely, so it's the circumstances that are unusual," said Dr. Karl Williams of the medical examiner's office.Williams said the baby appears to have died in the uterus early in the second trimester."That is based on the weight, based on the measurements of the baby," said Williams. "It was probably only 19 to 20 weeks gestational age. That's a very small baby. Almost certainly not viable outside of the womb anyways." Related Links: More Allegheny County NewsGet RSS | E-Mail Alerts Copyright 2007 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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