(Dan Herrick: New York Post)
A mother has been arrested and faces several charges after allegedly abandoning her newborn outside a house in Queens on Sunday, police said.
The baby was found laying in the alleyway of a house in the Ozone Park neighborhood around 10 a.m. and rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. Police on Monday said the newborn remained critical.
A woman who lives next door said she stepped outside her house Sunday morning to empty the trash when she heard the baby’s cries.
Officers responded to the scene and found the newborn uncovered with his umbilical cord still attached.
Police took the baby’s mother, 23-year-old Sabita Dookram into custody on Sunday. On Monday, they announced charges for attempted murder, attempted manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment, tampering with physical evidence and abandoning a child.
New York state’s so-called safe haven law allows a person to anonymously drop off a newborn at a church or hospital, but the baby must be left with an adult or law enforcement official. (NBC New York)
