From Iceland — Two Years For Causing Death Of Newborn Infant

Two Years For Causing Death Of Newborn Infant

Published March 29, 2012

A woman was sentenced to two years in prison yesterday for having killed her newborn child and disposing of it in a hotel dumpster last summer.
As reported, the dead child was found in the dumpster behind a downtown hotel. The convicted, who was an employee at the hotel, was soon taken into custody. As police investigated and questioned the convicted, they discovered a number of bizarre facts.
Firstly, the convicted claimed she did not know she was pregnant, and in fact no one she worked with was aware of her pregnancy, either. Second, shortly after the child was born, the woman contacted her ex-boyfriend and said she was ill. He and his father picked her up, intending first to go home, but decided instead that she needed to go to the hospital. A doctor who examined her determined that she had just given birth to a child. The woman denied this, and so the doctor informed the police to look for a newborn baby in the vicinity where she fell ill.
Police found the child, already deceased, in a trash can behind the hotel. An autopsy determined that the baby was born living.
RÚV now reports that the convicted was sentenced yesterday to two years in prison for the crime. She will also have to pay legal fees, in addition to 600,000 ISK in damages to the child’s father.
The convicted denied having caused the death of her child. The prosecution sought a sentence of 16 years, while her defence insisted she be acquitted. Her sentence will begin immediately

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