An Illinois judge ruled that a teen mom can stay in the same home as her infant son, despite being accused of tossing the baby in a trash can after his birth.
Chicago Tribune reports that the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services gave custody of the infant to the maternal grandmother earlier this month. On Friday, a Cook County judge allowed the teen to return to her mother’s house.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the 16-year-old allegedly hid her pregnancy from her family, then gave birth to a baby boy in May, in the bathroom of a home off of 3500 block of North Pulaski Road. She then allegedly wrapped the baby in a towel and placed him on a garbage can.
The baby’s father, a 17-year-old, then reportedly put the baby in a trash bag and placed him back on the garbage can. He told his mother, 37-year-old Karla L. Antimo, what happened and that he thought the baby had died, according to police.
A neighbor told authorities they saw the teens cleaning up blood in an apartment building. They told the neighbor that the teen miscarried, prosecutors said. At around 1 p.m., the teen girl went to Community First Medical Center and claimed she had a miscarriage, sources told Chicago Tribune.
Meanwhile, Antimo was arrested for allegedly lying to police. She initially told authorities she heard cries coming from an an alley close to her home off of 1714 N. Keystone Avenue. She claimed she walked through the alley, trying to find the source of the crying, and randomly found a baby boy on top of a garbage can. He was barely breathing and blue and limp. She took the infant to a nearby fire station.
The baby’s umbilical cord was still attached, and according to officials, he was bleeding.
Paramedics arrived and after performing CPR, rushed the baby to the Norwegian American Hospital at around 4:11 p.m. The baby was listed in critical condition, but ultimately stabilized and transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital in downtown Chicago.
“This incident could have been handled differently, especially when the grandmother got involved, because she’s not a child. She’s not a teenager,” Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said, according to CBS Chicago. “At least she did have the wherewithal though to take the baby to a firehouse.”
The baby is now thriving and doing good, according to the teen girl’s defense attorney.
Both teens had initially been barred from seeing the baby, but during Friday’s court hearing, the teen girl’s attorney argued that she would have nowhere to live if banned from staying at her mother’s home.
Not only was the ban lifted for the teen mom, but the father is now also allowed to see the infant, while following instructions laid out by the Department of Children and Family Services.
Both parents of the baby have been charged with attempted murder in juvenile court.
[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
